Sofia City Court (SCC) released on a bail of 20 000 leva former executive director of Sofia heating company Toplofikatsia Valentin Dimitrov, charged with money laundering and diversion.

Dimitrov spent 10 months in prison, mediapool.bg reported.

SCC said that it lacked enough evidence that Dimitrov committed money laundering and the other accusations were insufficient to for the authorities to keep him in prison.

Two other defendants in the case of the heating company drainage, Toplofikatsia former deputy executive director Emil Antonov and Dimitrov’s successor Georgi Rogachev, were released over the past month.

Before hearing SCC’s decision, Dimitrov told media that he received 450 000 euro from local businessman Krasimir Georgiev to ‘do business.’ Dimitrov allegedly invested the money in Austria.

Georgiev was recently involved in the trial. He is accused of the laundering of 500 000 euro, which were drained from Toplofikatsia. Georgiev is considered close to Economy and Energy Minister Roumen Ovcharov, also allegedly involved in a corruption controversy.
Prosecution is currently waiting for Georgiev to return from abroad.

Supervising prosecutor Bozhidar Dzhambazov said that he intends to appeal the release of Dimitrov.