site.btaUPDATED Ad Hoc Committee Set up to Establish Facts about Martin "the Notary" Bozhanov's, Petyo "the Euro" Petrov's Activity

The Parliament Wednesday decided to set up an ad hoc committee of inquiry into the facts and circumstances regarding the presence of unregulated influence in the justice system, ties of representatives of the judiciary, incompatible with the standards of independence and professional ethics, the activities of the crime group around Martin “the Notary” Bozhanov and the crime group around former ranking investigator Petyo “the Euro” Petrov. The proposal for the establishment of the commission was made by MPs from Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB).

The 49th National Assembly formed such committee to inquire the facts and circumstances surrounding the trade of influence by the group around Bozhanov, but time was not enough for it to complete its work, pointed out CC-DB MP Nadezhda Yordanova, one of the petitioners. “As MPs in the previous National Assembly we started to identify deficits in the legislation that made possible the existence of the respective groups and their non-disclosure,” she said. Therefore, CC-DB considers it important to continue this work, Yordanova added.

Bozhanov was shot dead in a gated complex in a Sofia suburb on the evening of January 31. According to media reports, he was a large-scale fixer of people's problems with the Judiciary. He has been implicated in building a network of connections with prosecutors and judges whom he allegedly bribed, threatened, blackmailed or otherwise pressured to treat his "clients" favourably.

Petrov's name and that of his then-wife Lyubena Pavlova made headlines about three years ago during the investigation of the Anti-Corruption Fund, a case that became known as the “Eight Dwarfs”.

The committee will work for three months and must establish all the facts and circumstances about the possible presence of individuals and organized groups of influence in the justice system in connection with the public information about the activities of the crime groups around Bozhanov and Petrov.

The committee should also investigate the facts about the possible existence of evidence of inaction of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the Inspectorate to the SJC, the Prosecution Office, the Interior Ministry and other competent authorities about the possible existence of unregulated links between Bozhanov and other persons with representatives of the judiciary, incompatible with the standards of independence and professional ethics.

It is envisaged that the committee may use in its work the information, data and documents gathered during the work of the ad hoc committee formed by the previous Parliament. At the end of its work, it must also draw up a report on the results of its work and the facts and circumstances established and submit it to the National Assembly.

Parliament failed to elect a chairman of the committee. Its is composed of 21 MPs, elected on a parity basis - three per parliamentary group. Here are its members: 

GERB-UDF: Georgi Valentinov Georgiev, Georgi Ivanov Georgiev, Manoil Manev
Movement for Rights and Freedoms: Hamid Hamid, Erten Anisova, Tsvetan Enchev
Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria: Nadezhda Yordanova, Lena Borislavova, Boyko Rashkov
Vazrazhdane: Zlatan Zlatanov, Ivaylo Chorbov, Violeta Karpacheva
BSP for Bulgaria: Maya Dimitrova, Krasimir Yordanov, Ivan Petkov
There Is Such a People: Pavela Mitova, Petya Dimitrova, Ivaylo Kostadinov
Velichie: Yuliana Mateeva, Krasimira Katincharova, Rositsa Kalinova