The Sofia City Court has decided that businessman Vassil Bozhkov must remain in custody permanently. Earlier, the Prosecutor’s Office asked the court to remand Vassil Bozhkov in custody for one of the cases against him related to his gambling business. The gambling mogul recently returned to Bulgaria from Dubai. In that case, Vassil Bozhkov is accused of leading an organized crime group, which has been active since 2014, and was involved in extortion, bribery, money laundering and malfeasance. 

The prosecution pointed out that the defendant had established sufficient business structures outside the EU where he could continue to operate his gambling business. Online correspondence pointing to Bozhkov's contacts with Russian oligarchs, whose names are on the EU sanctions lists, has been discovered. The prosecutor's office presented data on communication between Bozhkov and the deceased Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. The businessman's lawyers said they would appeal against the detention order.

• Businessman Vassil Bozhkov detained at Sofia Airport