IN keeping with the series of controversies that have attended his term in office, Prosecutor-General Nikola Filchev is stepping down amid a final round of controversy.
His final report, handed to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) ahead of the end of his term on February 22, names seven officials as having found to be corrupt, with investigators making up the largest proportion of the group.
Meanwhile, a public row has erupted about Filchevs nomination to become Bulgarias ambassador to Kazakhstan.
The report on the Prosecutor-Generals Office for the period 1999-2005 was handed to the SJC on February 15.
According to Filchevs report, a total of 1422 reports of corruption had been investigated, but only seven of them had proved to be valid. A further nine probes were still in progress. Three of the cases were being dealt with in court and two were the subject of disciplinary hearings. There was also an internal investigation into allegations that an investigator was involved in corruption.
During his term, Filchev asked the SJC to strip six senior judicial investigators and a senior prosecutor of immunity from prosecution.
The seven officers were named as investigators Stoil Kolev, Stoyan Petrov, Angel Kafedjiev, Stefan Stefanov, Oleg Mateev and Hristo Stanchev and Vassil Simitchiiski, Regional Prosecutor of Svoge, Western Bulgaria.
On February 9, the Cabinet nominated Filchev as ambassador to Kazakhstan.
For the past six months, there have been rumours in Bulgaria that Filchev would become Bulgarian ambassador to an ex-Soviet Republic.
It was also rumoured in the press that Filchev had negotiated his new position in return for the election of President Georgi Purvanovs legal adviser, Boris Velchev, as the new Prosecutor-General. Velchev was the only candidate for the post and won with an unprecedented large majority of the votes.
Filchevs appointment is pending approval by Purvanov. There has been harsh reaction from opposition parties such as the right-wing Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB). The DSB was founded and is led by former prime minister Ivan Kostov, during whose 1997 to 2001 term Filchev was elected as Prosecutor-General.
On February 10, Kostov told Parliament that Purvanov should not approve Filchevs appointment to Kazakhstan because this was a scandalous and humiliating decision for Bulgarian diplomacy. Kostov described the appointment as a shameful deal and said Filchevs masters are trying to hide him from prosecution for his actions as Prosecutor- General. Kostov also demanded that the first steps of the new Prosecutor-General should include an investigation into the actions of his predecessor. This was supported by Bulgarian Socialist Party MP Tatyana Doncheva.
Later the same day, the Prosecutor-Generals Office issued a statement, shown on Bulgarian National Television, in response to Kostovs allegations.
Kostov has been questioned numerous times by the Prosecutors Office in connection with privatisation deals during his term as prime minister. These were deals that made a small group of people immensely rich while the Bulgarian people live in poverty, but the people never forget, the statement said.
Filchev received support from Interior Minister Roumen Petkov who said the same day in Parliament that Kostovs allegations were cynical.
We must stop the practice of humiliating people who have worked for the state after stepping down from office, Petkov said.
On February 13, another issue drew the attention of the magistrates.
Ivan Grigorov, the chairperson of the Supreme Court of Cassation, announced that a Clean Hands operation for the political elite of Bulgaria would be launched soon.
Boris Velchev backed Grigorovs idea, that a special commission of independent experts chaired by Velchev would inspect the incomes not only of judges but of everyone holding elective positions. Members of the SJC would also be investigated, as well as their children. Results are to be announced in the media.
Konstantin Penchev, chairperson of the Supreme Administrative Court, welcomed the idea.
I have always been for transparency among high officials and magistrates, Penchev told a Bulgarian-language newspaper.
However, Svetlin Mihailov, chairperson of the Sofia City Court, compared the proposed commission to something from the communist era in Bulgaria.
Nelly Koutskova, chairperson of the Union of Magistrates in Bulgaria, said that the idea was good but would produce results only if it is carried out in professional way.
A guarantee for the effectiveness and objectivity of such a commission would be the attraction of independent experts to serve on it, she said.
