Bulgaria’s chief prosecutor seeks to lift the immunity of six MPs

Bulgaria’s chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov on 8^th of November sought to lift the immunity of six MPs: Georgi Mihaylov and Elena Yoncheva from BSP; Boris Kirchev from GERB; Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Veselin Mareshki; and Krastina Taskova and Plamen Hristov from his Volya party.

Three of the six MPs said they would voluntarily give up their immunity, which was requested by the Chief Prosecutor. These are MPs from the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the ruling GERB. BSP leader Kornelia Ninova said that the whole parliamentary group stands behind the MPs and believes they are innocent and pointed out that these are bright "blades" of the BSP.

The Prosecutor's Office wants to investigate Professor Georgi Mihaylov from BSP for deliberate mismanagement. As Director of the Hematology Hospital from 2015 to 2017, according to the public prosecution, he had signed a series of contracts which have resulted in more than BGN 24 million of debt for the hospital.

The immunity of Elena Yoncheva from BSP is also sought for financial crimes. The prosecutor's office has suspected Yoncheva in money laundering, which were embezzled from the bankrupt Corporate Commercial Bank and legalised through an offshore company and two companies registered in Bulgaria. She said the accusations against her were absurd.

The ruling GERB MP Boris Kirchev will be investigated for tax evasion in particularly large proportions. According to the prosecutor's office, he had not paid the treasury more than BGN 32 000 in VAT, for which he used documents with false content.

Volya party leader Vesselin Mareshki and Krastina Taskova and Plamen Hristov from his party are already accused of extortion, but the prosecution has also collected data for other crimes in this investigation. There is now a new demand for committing crimes aiming at property benefit. These are threats to pharmacies owners. Mareshki said they would consider whether they would give up their immunities this time.

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