After the arrest of Ivan Ivanov, deputy chief of the Chief Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (CDCOC), on charges of malfeasance and leaking information to businessmen who were under investigation, the Bulgarian-language media anonymously received a report revealing an investigation into Ivanov and several others. What follows is an edited version of the report.

In October 2007, CDCOC investigated an organised criminal group thought to pose serious danger to the public. The group was related to Krassimir Marinov and Nikolai Marinov, collectively known as Marginite and both currently on trial for conspiracy to murder. CDCOC revealed that the activities of the group were spread across the whole country and were being managed by Hristo Halvadjiev.

During the investigation CDCOC collected evidence of crimes committed by gang members. The information was sent to the Supreme Cassation Prosecution, which re-sent it to Sofia City Prosecution with instructions to launch legal proceedings. Prosecutor V Naidenov ordered a preliminary investigation of the case. The prosecution was allowed to use special intelligence methods to investigate the crimes. As a result of the data collected, CDCOC planned a special police operation for October 10 2007. CDCOC deputy chiefs Valentin Trifonov and Ivan Ivanov were informed of the operation on October 8.

On October 9, the Operative and Technical Information Directorate received information about a conversation between two of the people being investigated, Ivan Hristov Ivanov and Hovanes Manouk Manoukyan. In the conversation, Ivan Hristov Ivanov told Manoukyan that he expected to be detained on October 10 and held for 24 or 72 hours. He also said that a third person had told him of a police operation to be held on October 10 against all fuel importers.

A second conversation between the two, later in the day, revealed that Ivan Hristov Ivanov had received information about the police operation from Lyubomir Ivanov, head of the criminal police department of the second regional police office in Sofia. Lyubomir Ivanov had told Ivan Hristov Ivanov that 30 people would be checked, most probably because of their association with Hristo Halvadjiev.

In another phone call, on October 11, between Ivan Hristov Ivanov and Manoukyan, Ivanov was recorded as saying:

“I met with that one, the one I told you about, about your business and he told me that he had a contact with the deputy chief […], he said, a close contact.”

The investigation showed that the high-level official in question was CDCOC deputy chief Ivan Ivanov. It also showed that he was in contact with members of the criminal group, took money from them and had business with them through Pavel Slavkov. The following conversations appeared to confirm this:

On November 2, Slavkov talked to Ivan Ivanov about a third person:

Slavkov: You’ve met. He has something about my friends in Equest by OLAF (the European Anti-Fraud Office)
Ivanov: There were some things
S: I want to tell you, as you are close with them, aren’t you? If something can be done?
[…]
S: You know what else. Aren’t we going to provide them with fuels?
I: Up there?
S: Yes
I: You have their telephone numbers.
S: Not only up there. They bought the garbage, didn’t they? Do you know how much fuel this is? Can’t we join and provide them with fuel?
I: I’ll try to arrange an appointment …

The conversation continued with Slavkov asking about other possible “businesses” and Ivanov answering “there is no heat yet” and “let’s see whether we can make your way in”.

Five days later Slavkov called Ivanov again.

Slavkov: That one called me, from down there, from Svilengrad. That Zhoro was showing off. He said “Ivan no longer sings in the choir. They downgraded him. I, says he, work with people at a higher-level now. I don’t care about Pavel and his man.”
Ivanov: Ha-ha
[…]
S: “…I already pay and work with much higher-ranked people. He says, they downgraded him, he no longer sings in the choir.”
[…]
I: Aha, well, OK. These are small worries. At least for me these are small problems.

A conversation between the two on November 11 revealed that Georgi Radkov, chief of the economic police department chief directorate for counteraction of crime, public order protection and prevention, was also allegedly involved with the criminal group. Ivanov gave Slavkov Radkov’s telephone number, so that Slavkov could call him and “arrange the matter”.

On November 14, Radkov called Ivanov to tell him about “those in Shoumen” being “hit”. “They were warned that something there was about to happen,” Ivanov said. “It wasn’t us. I told Bombata (the Bomb) two weeks ago to warn them.”

According to the report, Radkov, through his wife, bought goods smuggled into the country.

Recorded conversations between Ivanov and Atanas Petrov, an owner of Vinprom Peshtera, led to the allegation that Petrov was giving Ivanov expensive gifts and money through third parties, an allegation that Petrov is now on record as denying.

In another conversation between Ivanov and an unidentified man on November 12, Ivanov indicated a laptop would be a “suitable gift” for “the party”. Ivanov’s birthday was on November 14, two days after the conversation. In the call, Ivanov explained that his daughter Antonia had liked the laptop, worth 2752 leva.

After this information was given to the Interior Minister Roumen Petkov and the General Directorate of Police, Ivanov and his close associates got rid of their telephones, the report said.

Based on the data, collected through using special surveilllance, the report concluded that Peshtera AD had defrauded the state of 1.2 billion leva in unpaid excise duties. The company was the main sponsor of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the election campaigns of President Georgi Purvanov, Interior Minister Roumen Petkov and other high-level officials in the Interior Ministry. According to unconfirmed data, Interior Ministry chief secretary Valentin Petrov received a monthly salary of 25 000 leva from the company.

The group of high-ranking officials implicated in the report, were said to have guaranteed the security of Peshtera and to have been behind discrediting the former chief secretary of the Interior Ministry Iliya Iliev.

The circle around Peshtera would do everything possible to discredit and dismiss all employees of the ministry who had taken part in the investigation, the report said.