Vassil Vassilev, the head of the regional police department in the town of Vratsa in northern Bulgaria, was not dismissed but ony sanctioned, Interior Ministry's press service said on August 22 2008.

A day earlier, the ministry said that Vassilev was dismissed, but the full text of the statement published on the ministry's website on August 22 said that the punishment imposed on Vassil Vassilev was not a dismissal, but “not allowing him to apply for promotion in the next three years”. This meant that for the next three years, Vassilev will remain in his current position with the ministry.

As for why Vassilev was sanctioned, the statement said that a check found a number of violations in his work over the period from January 14 to March 3 2008.

He has failed to impose proper control over the work of his subordinates. He has also failed to record his subordinates' violations in the course of their work, the statement said.

When Interior Minister Mihail Mikov hinted on August 13 2008 that Vassilev was going to be dismissed, his words were “You can't drink all night with mutri and pretend to be working for the Ministry.”

"Mutri" a term commonly used in Bulgaria in relation to criminals.