Bulgarian criminals seek shelter as MEP candidates 

On 27 May, a Sofia court interrupted the prosecution of Alexander Tomov, indicted for embezzling some 18 million euros and for falsifying documents, following his registration at the head of the list of his own 'Bulgarian Social Democracy' party for both the European and national elections, Mediapool announced. 

Tomov is a former politician turned businessman. During his time as CEO of the giant metallurgical plant Kremikovtsi, he brought the company to bankruptcy. Tomov was also president of football club CSKA, which collapsed under his management too. 

Tomov's party is now a "political ghost", political analysts noted. Even if the controversial candidate fails to make it into either parliament, any potential legal action against him would only be able to resume in the autumn, because Bulgarian law provides candidate legislators with immunity from prosecution. 

The flawed Bulgarian judiciary is scrutinised by the European Commission under the 'Cooperation and Verification Mechanism', put in place on the country's EU accession in January 2007. Often evidence "disappears" during lengthy trials, or witnesses "forget" what they saw, the Commission noted in its reports. The 'time-out' provided by the immunity is seen by the Bulgarian press as giving criminals the opportunity to "come clean" in court. 

On 28 May, the High Administrative Court approved another controversial football boss, Ivaylo Drajev, who owns Burgas club Chernomorets. Drajev was prosecuted for causing the death of two people by drink-driving, and again for bankrupting a major plant in Burgas by siphoning off its funds. 

Drajev will be fifth on the 'Bulgarian Social Democracy' list. The Central Electoral Commission had initially refused to register him, but he managed to overturn the decision in the High Administrative Court. 

Two businessmen from Varna – father and son Vesselin and Hristo Danov, who were arrested for money laundering and indicted for pimping and criminal association, have already registered as candidates for the national legislative elections, which take place on 5 July. They are leader and number three respectively on the list of the 'Union of Bulgarian Patriots' party, another ghost-like party, experts say. On 27 May, the Electoral Commission endorsed their registration, and they are expected to be released from police custody within the next few days. 

Other controversial businessmen appear to have a good chance of being elected. In the city of Dupnitsa, 70km south of Sofia, Plamen Galev registered as an independent majority candidate for the national poll. Galev is one of the notorious 'Galevi brothers', known as "the owners of the first private city in Bulgaria" (EurActiv 22/01/09). He is currently in police custody, but if the Central Electoral Commission endorses his registration, he is expected to be released to run his campaign.