Ex-Mayor of Bulgaria's Vidin to Serve Jailtime

A court in Montana has sentenced the former mayor of Vidin in northwestern Bulgaria to five years of imprisonment, the country's prosecuting authorities say.

Vidov, in office between 2007 and 2011, has been found guilty of embezzlement alongside two people linked to him for years who took part in a BGN 0.224 M scam.

While serving as Mayor, he commissioned security at nearly all municipal properties to a guard company run and represented by two people he had close relations with, Kocho Kochev and Milena Mianova respectively.

The assignment was made without a tender procedure. Only a little portion of it was fulfilled, with witnesses saying the company, Marina International, did not carry out itse security duties at a number of sites.

What is more, the first contracts with Marina International were signed at the end of 2008, but the firm did not employ any guards until January 2010, the court says.

Milanova and Kochev have also been handed imprisonment sentences.

The decision can be appealed.