Ex Chair of Varna Administrative Court Conclusively Convicted in Bribery Case

Anelia Tsvetkova, former Chair of the Varna Administrative Court, has been conclusively convicted for bribery.

In a ruling issued on Wednesday, Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassation (VKS) upheld the 3-year suspended sentence issued by the Sofia Appellate Court in June 2014, which had confirmed the ruling of the Sofia City Court from 2012 on the case, according to the Legal World Magazine.

Tsvetkova's penalty includes a 3-year suspended prison sentence with a 5-year probation period, a fine of BGN 10 000, and a ban on occupying a position in the judiciary for 3 years, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Tsvetkova was arrested in July 2008 in a special operation of the State Agency for National Security (DANS) and the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office in a restaurant in Varna.

The lawsuit against her started in July 2009, when Tsvetkova, in her capacity as a judge, was charged with soliciting and taking a bribe of BGN 10 000 in order to rule in favor of a company, Atanasov Invest.

The verdict of the Supreme Court of Cassation on the case is final.