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11/01/2011
A scandal erupted last week when a local tabloid published leaked transcripts from wiretaps.
(Various sources -- 05/01/11 - 11/01/11)
A scandal erupted last week when a local tabloid published leaked transcripts from wiretaps.
(Various sources -- 05/01/11 - 11/01/11)
At least one person will be charged with disclosing a state secret in recently leaked transcripts from wiretaps featuring senior Bulgarian officials, local media reported on Monday (January 10th).
The scandal erupted five days earlier when the Sofia-based Galeria weekly published the contents of three telephone conversations Bulgarian customs head Vanyo Tanov allegedly had with his superiors -- Finance Minister Simeon Djankov and his deputy, Vladislav Goranov.
Galeria claimed last week that it had received the transcripts on a USB flash drive from an anonymous source in late December.
The tapes, reportedly recorded in May last year, revealed Tanov and the finance ministry's tense relations with Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov. In one of his conversations with Djankov, the customs chief hinted that the interior minister had tried to shield certain companies from being sanctioned for violations of the customs rules.
Nearly a week since the transcripts were made public, there is no official information as to why Tanov's phone was tapped. According to press reports Monday, the investigation prompted by the leak has established that the tapes were made with the use of special surveillance.
Under Bulgarian law, the application of wiretapping or similar devices requires a prosecutor's warrant and is permitted only in cases when they constitute the only means of revealing or preventing serious crimes, or in operations linked to protecting national security.
If the gathered information provides no grounds for initiating legal proceedings, the recordings must be destroyed within ten days of termination of the operation.
Tanov, who headed Bulgaria's anti-organised crime police until 2007, said in an interview in late December that he had been able to prevent a plot aimed at discrediting him. He said he received a tip-off that someone was ordered to place smuggled cigarettes in his son's car.
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov indicated last week that he was aware of the tapes' existence.
He also said he sees nothing wrong in the spying on members of his cabinet or other senior officials, arguing that the European Commission has repeatedly criticised Bulgaria for failing to deal with high-level corruption.
"All spying is done with a prosecutor's and court warrant, as provided by law," the prime minister and leader of the ruling centre-right party Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) said. "Ministers must work knowing they are watched all the time."
The scandal erupted five days earlier when the Sofia-based Galeria weekly published the contents of three telephone conversations Bulgarian customs head Vanyo Tanov allegedly had with his superiors -- Finance Minister Simeon Djankov and his deputy, Vladislav Goranov.
Galeria claimed last week that it had received the transcripts on a USB flash drive from an anonymous source in late December.
The tapes, reportedly recorded in May last year, revealed Tanov and the finance ministry's tense relations with Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov. In one of his conversations with Djankov, the customs chief hinted that the interior minister had tried to shield certain companies from being sanctioned for violations of the customs rules.
Nearly a week since the transcripts were made public, there is no official information as to why Tanov's phone was tapped. According to press reports Monday, the investigation prompted by the leak has established that the tapes were made with the use of special surveillance.
Under Bulgarian law, the application of wiretapping or similar devices requires a prosecutor's warrant and is permitted only in cases when they constitute the only means of revealing or preventing serious crimes, or in operations linked to protecting national security.
If the gathered information provides no grounds for initiating legal proceedings, the recordings must be destroyed within ten days of termination of the operation.
Tanov, who headed Bulgaria's anti-organised crime police until 2007, said in an interview in late December that he had been able to prevent a plot aimed at discrediting him. He said he received a tip-off that someone was ordered to place smuggled cigarettes in his son's car.
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov indicated last week that he was aware of the tapes' existence.
He also said he sees nothing wrong in the spying on members of his cabinet or other senior officials, arguing that the European Commission has repeatedly criticised Bulgaria for failing to deal with high-level corruption.
"All spying is done with a prosecutor's and court warrant, as provided by law," the prime minister and leader of the ruling centre-right party Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) said. "Ministers must work knowing they are watched all the time."
No one has the right to use special surveillance devices as a preventive measure, Ivan Kostov, the leader of the rightist Democrats for Strong Bulgaria party, who served as prime minister from 1997 to 2001, said on Monday. He urged the parliamentary subcommittee supervising the use of special surveillance means to conduct a thorough analysis of the case.
Meanwhile, the conservative Order, Law and Justice Party made public on Monday the contents of Tanov's alleged wiretapped telephone conversations with two key GERB lawmakers, Iskra Fidosova and Menda Stoyanova.
The two are the heads of parliament's legal and finance committees, respectively.
Tanov said on Tuesday that the published text of his conversation with Stoyanova was edited and none of it corresponds to the truth.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com....more...
Meanwhile, the conservative Order, Law and Justice Party made public on Monday the contents of Tanov's alleged wiretapped telephone conversations with two key GERB lawmakers, Iskra Fidosova and Menda Stoyanova.
The two are the heads of parliament's legal and finance committees, respectively.
Tanov said on Tuesday that the published text of his conversation with Stoyanova was edited and none of it corresponds to the truth.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com....more...
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