The Court of Appeal in Sofia finally granted permission to the prosecution’s request for a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for money laundering charges against Tsvetan Vassilev. Thus, the decision of the first instance was confirmed, reports BGNES.
According to the magistrates of the second instance, this is the only possible measure that could ensure the normal course of the proceedings against the banker.
The court explains that there is a reasonable assumption that he is complicit in the crimes for which he is accused. The court also took into account the fact that Vasilev is in Serbia. Thus the conclusion is reached that if no arrest warrant is issued, he can abscond. The decision of the court is final.
Tsvetan Vassilev is being sued along with several other people for the bankruptcy of KTB. The case has been going on for several years. In July 2014, the banker was charged with embezzlement on a particularly large scale in connection with the bankruptcy of the Corporate Commercial Bank (KTB). He was subsequently charged with over 100 crimes.
The charges were brought in absentia, as Vassilev managed to leave the country and has since been in Serbia, where he was also granted political asylum. A European arrest warrant was also issued and the banker was wanted in the Schengen Information System.
In 2022, Vasilev’s lawyer Konstantin Simeonov announced that an Interpol commission had examined his complaint and found that the search for the banker was for political reasons. In his words then, the International Organization of the Criminal Police decided to delete all data in its system related to Vasilev, as the case no longer met Interpol’s requirements.
The same year, the Court of Appeal in Belgrade finally rejected the request of the authorities in Sofia to extradite Tsvetan Vassilev from Serbia.
And in April 2023, it became clear that Interpol was again looking for the former majority owner of KTB.
