The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has decided to punish three of the magistrates involved in the so-called brokerage scandal by demoting them, Bulgarian media said on February 4 2010.

This was a surprising move by the country's superior judicial body because the media had been speculating that the three magistrates would be dismissed entirely. The three were proven to have had dozens of telephone conversations with a man alleged to have been acting as a broker of influence in the judiciary offering support to magistrates running for top positions.

According to the SJC, the three magistrates, Stara Zagora prosecutor Petar Vassilev, Nessebar judge Plamen Naidneov and Sofia judge Roumyana Chenalova, have only violated the SJC code of ethics in terms of the provision that asks magistrates to refrain from any actions that might damage the profession's image. Hence they were only demoted rather than fired.

The scandal first erupted in June 2009 when SJC member Ivan Kolev said that a man identified as Krassyo (short for Krassimir) had been acting as a peddler of influence in the judiciary. According to Kolev, Krasyo could secure anyone a high-profile position as a magistrate if they were 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. Krassyo was later identified as 27-year-old businessman Krassimir Georgiev who happened to have dozens of mobile phone numbers of senior magistrates stored in his phone.

As a result of public pressure, several magistrates resigned from office, only to return a few weeks later saying they had changed their minds. Georgiev is still under investigation about his contacts with magistrates and the source of his income. The results of this investigation are expected in 2010.