Former Head of Bulgarian Customs Agency, Petya Bankova, and Stefan Dimitrov remain in custody

The three-member panel of the Court of Appeals - Sofia on April 18 upheld the ruling of the Sofia City Court, which imposed pre-trial detention on the former Head of Customs Agency, Petya Bankova, and businessman, Stefan Dimitrov, for participation in a criminal group for smuggling and money laundering.

The court was motivated by a reasonable assumption that the two had committed the crimes they were accused of, pointing out that there is currently a lot of documentary and oral evidence in this direction.

The magistrates also held that there was no danger that the accused persons would abscond if their measures were amended, but on the other hand, due to the high public danger of the act, it was possible that the two could commit other crimes. Apart from that, the state of health of both detainees allows their stay in pre-trial detention, the court held.

The ruling of the Sofia Court of Appeal is final and is not subject to appeal or protest.

Images by BGNES

Earlier in the day, before the start of the court sitting, one of the defence lawyers of the former head of the Customs Agency said that Bankova has been charged with a second charge - coercion. According to investigators, Bankova seconded 18 employees of the Customs Agency to different locations in the country against their will.

In the courtroom, Stefan Dimitrov said he wanted a lighter measure because he had health issues. He said he had a swelling of the head, he felt dizzy and an emergency ambulance was called twice during his stay in custody. He pointed out that he had never been detained and had not broken the law. He added that he actively participated in charity campaigns. Dimitrov said he expected "this journalistic powerhouse" to clear his name once the case was over.

The case has already been postponed twice because Bankova's lawyers did not show up. Yesterday, former Ministry of Interior chief secretary, Zhivko Kotsev, was also charged with participating in a criminal group. He was given a cash bail of 20,000 BGN.

Bankova was detained for 72 hours on April 4 and charged with involvement in an organised crime group for smuggling and bribery, along with three other people - Stefan Dimitrov, Marin Dimitrov and Nikola Nikolov.

On April 6, Sofia City Court remanded Bankova and Dimitrov.