Mayors of Belitsa and Sungurlare Charged with Conspiracy and Influence Peddling

This morning, October 22, the mayors of Belitsa and Sungurlare were charged with conspiracy to commit influence peddling.

Both men are being held in custody for 72 hours, with prosecutors expected to seek their remand in custody.

The mayors of Sungurlare and Belitsa will remain in custody for 72 hours. The Prosecutor's Office will ask the court to order the continued detention of Dimitar Gavazov and Radoslav Revanski. However, it is not yet clear whether hearings on their detention measures will take place today.

• GDBOP and SANS Raid in Belitsa: Public Procurement Contracts Under Scrutiny; Mayor Led Away in Handcuffs

According to investigators, the alleged conspiracy began in Sungurlare municipality in early 2024 and continued for more than two years.

During the operation, the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDCOC) and the State Agency for National Security searched administrative buildings and private addresses in Sungurlare and Belitsa.

Numerous documents relating to public procurement contracts in the two municipalities were seized, and witnesses were questioned as part of the investigation.

The third person charged is Hristo Shirokov, who is already under house arrest in connection with a separate investigation into alleged involvement in an organised criminal group suspected of tampering with water meters and extorting hotel owners along Bulgaria’s southern Black Sea coast.

The MRF parliamentary group announced that it would refer the matter to the acting Prosecutor General, alleging that Revanski had been subjected to political pressure by Nikolay Shushkov, director of the Customs Agency.

According to MRF, Shushkov had urged the mayor to switch his political affiliation to Progressive Bulgaria, allegedly promising him political support and protection in return.

The party also wants investigators to establish whether there was a connection between the alleged pressure and the subsequent GDCOC operation in which Revanski was detained.

The director of the Customs Agency has said he is on a business trip and will comment on the allegations when he returns.

It remains unclear how the alleged influence-peddling scheme operated and which public procurement contracts are linked to the investigation.