BELGRADE COURT RULED TO EXTRADITE FORMER BANKER TZVETAN VASSILEV

The court in Belgrade ruled to extradite Tzvetan Vassilev, the former majority shareholder of the insolvent Corporate Commercial Bank, sources of BNT “Around the World and at Home” said on 9th of June.

According to the information, Vassilev and his lawyers will appeal the court’s decision before the next instance.

The majority shareholder of Corporate Commercial Bank was accused in abstentia for embezzling 206 million BGN from the bank. He surrendered to the Serbian authorities in September 2014.

As regards Vassilev’s request for political asylum and Serbian citizenship, according to the sources, the magistrates in Belgrade announced they would not take a position on the political aspects of the case.

This is the second time the court in Belgrade considers the request sent by the Bulgarian authorities for Vassilev’s extradition.

In 2015, the court in Belgrade ruled to extradite Vassilev, but he appealed the decision and the appellate court overturned it.

The two-year term for the investigation on Corporate Commercial Bank expires on 2nd of July and it’s likely the case against the former banker to proceed in abstentia because of the delays in the extradition procedure.