Sat, Feb 11 2012

From peddling influence to search engine

Mon, Nov 23 2009 17:27 CET 2341 Views
From peddling influence to search engine

 krasyo.net
Photo: The Sofia Echo staff

It looks like Google, but with a twist; the Krasyo search engine launched on November 23 2009 features a gold chain dangling from the Google-like logo and buttons that read "Браточка, намери ми..." (Bro, find for me .... ) and "Чувствам се идиот" (I feel like an idiot). 

Krasyo.net
 will find any word the user types in, but only in relation to Krassimir Georgiev, the Bulgarian businessman who is a suspect in an influence-trading scheme that involved prominent members of Bulgaria's courts.

The so-called brokerage scandal, involving Georgiev, surfaced in June 2009 when Supreme Judicial Council member Ivan Kolev said that Georgiev had been acting as a broker in the judiciary.

Georgiev claimed he could secure a high-profile position as a magistrate for anyone willing to pay 200 000 euro. This was possible because Krassyo could count on the support of between eight and 13 SJC members who appoint magistrates.

An investigation by prosecutors found that Georgiev had spoken to 14 candidates for judicial posts, five of whom had been appointed, and 30 active judges, as well as well-known politicians and members of Parliament.

Investigators subsequently found more than 30 telephone numbers of top magistrates in Georgiev's phone book.

Anything a user searches for, krasyo.net combines with the word "Красьо" (Krasyo in Cyrillic), short for Krassimir.

Additional search options let users search for Krasyo and everything else, Krasyo and the magistates and Krasyo and politicians.

Lastly, the search engine's homepage offers links to Service Prices, Everything about Krasyo,  Krasyo about Everything and Krasyo doesn't have an equivalent in English. All links lead back to the search engine's homepage.

Ultimately, the user is redirected to Google for the search results.Bulgarian daily Dnevnik said that journalist Atanas Chobanov had created the site.

  • Print
  • Send via email
  • Translate to
  • Share:

To post comments, please, Login or Register.


Please read the The Sofia Echo forum comments policy.

Soft decision on the 'brokerage row scandal'

Three magistrates who had phone calls with the alleged broker of influence in the judiciary are being demoted

Supreme Judicial Council’s Christmas bonus plan given death sentence

Simeon Dyankov, Bulgaria’s Finance Minister, stopped the SJC stuffing their own Christmas stockings, telling them that the country cannot afford the bonuses that they planned to pay themselves.

More in this category

US embassy in Sofia announces youth essay contest

Works will be reviewed by a group of judges, and winners will receive certificates and prizes.

Bulgarian police bust drug distribution gang in ‘Operation Hammer’

Seven arrested, including ‘The Squirrel’ who was found in possession of 10 00 euro, Interior Ministry says. Mobile phones, computer equipment and drug paraphernalia seized.

Bulgaria’s winter weekend weather – cloudy and cold with light snow

Maximum temperatures across the country will remain mostly below zero.

Mild earth tremors in Bulgaria on February 10

The first tremor was at about 12.34am, followed by another three minutes later. Their epicentres were located between the towns of Radnevo and Topolovgrad.

Bulgaria halts electricity exports after power plant accident

There was no risk of blackouts caused by insufficient power supply, Economy Minister Traicho Traikov told Bulgarian National Radio.