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© Tsvetelina Belutova, Capital
Geshev is practically guarded twice.
The text was republished by Free Europe.
Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev lives in House 5 of the Boyana State Residence. The complex traditionally houses presidents, prime ministers and some presidents of the National Assembly. It has not been known for 30 years that a representative of the judiciary has lived in Boyana.
Ivan Geshev’s new address was confirmed by three independent Free Europe sources. Officially, no institution confirmed, but also did not deny, the information in relation to which we sent them questions.
And the government, the prosecution, the NSO and the SANS: no institution has explained whether Geshev lives in Boyana and why. The result of the Free Europe study shows that this is a well-known secret that nobody wants to talk about.
“State property”
In the last week of August, the chief prosecutor himself said that he lived on state property. “I live on state property on the recommendation of all Bulgarian security services, including the National Security Service,” Geshev told Nova TV on August 26.
The reason for his words was a question from one of the organizers of the protests against the government and the attorney general. Arman Babikyan, Professor Velislav Minekov and lawyer Nikolay Hadjigenov – the so-called A Poisonous Trio told the media that they had sent an investigation under the Law on Access to Public Information to the Council of Ministers because they had received information that the chief prosecutor lived in the government residence.
Later, Ivan Geshev said that he lived on state property on the recommendation of security services and that he and his family paid rent at market rates. “A rabbit will not jump out of this bush,” Ivan Geshev told Nova TV.
Is there a rabbit?
It is unclear whether or not there is a rabbit in this bush, as the Council of Ministers has not responded to an official request from Free Europe for more than 10 days. It is the Council of Ministers that administers the Boyana state residence.
One day after the chief prosecutor said that he lived on state property, we asked the questions: what is the property on which Geshev and his family live? since when they settled there; what is the monthly rent they pay; how “market prices” were determined and what security services recommended that you live in the residence.
We sent the questions to the government information service on August 27. Initially they told us that they were going to respond, but they could not because the employee, who “is the only one with this information”, is on leave. We are talking about Veselin Chinov, who heads the Directorate of “Administrative, Legal and Property Management Services”.
“When the person returns, they will receive the information, we do not hide it,” said Teodora Petrova of the government information service.
An inspection by Free Europe showed that Chinov was on leave until August 30. After he returned to work, the government press office said every day that the information was being prepared, but it was unclear when it would be available. According to Petrova, this should have happened “after Wednesday” (September 2). So far there are no answers to the questions.
The same questions were directed to the prosecution. We did not receive an answer for several days and we were reminded of the question. There are no answers yet.
“House 5 is occupied”
The Boyana Residence was established in 1974 as a representative complex of the communist leadership of the country. It consists of two larger buildings: House 1 and House 2. The first today is the National Museum of History and the second is a complex of conference rooms and residential areas, serving the government. There are 6 smaller buildings.
According to three independent sources in Free Europe, who wished to remain anonymous, Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev lives in House 5, one of the smaller buildings.
The information that House 5 is currently occupied is also confirmed by a conversation with an employee of the management headed by Chinov. He answered his landline in the Cabinet. We present ourselves for tourists who want to rent a room for the night in “Boyana”.
When asked if citizens could rent parts of the government residence, he said “it is possible, but only for the hotel part.” Asked if House 5 could be rented, he said that “there is no such practice, the houses in the complex are for representatives of the Executive Power and citizens can use the hotel.
The official clarified that “anyway, House 5 is currently occupied.” When asked who he worked for and if the chief prosecutor lived there, he said he could not provide this information and broke off the conversation.
Who recommended?
So far, none of the security services has confirmed the words of the chief prosecutor that he has a recommendation to live on state property.
“Free Europe” sent a written inquiry to the State Agency for National Security (SANS) on whether and why such a recommendation was made, but they did not reply.
Ivan Geshev explicitly named Nova TV the National Security Service (NSS) as one of the institutions that issued an opinion. We also asked them if this was true. The NSO did not confirm. The answer reads: “The National Security Service has no commitment to the safety of the Attorney General.”
At the request of Ivan Geshev, he was guarded by the Witness Protection Office, which was under his direct supervision. The NSO has provided security to lead prosecutors so far, but has not been responsible for Geshev’s security since late April 2020.
Double guard
However, Geshev is in practice doubly protected and not, like his predecessors, only by the OSN. This is because Boyana’s residence is the responsibility of the National Security Service, as it is a strategic site for national security.
The service is responsible for security throughout the government complex. Following an explicit investigation by Free Europe, the NSO confirmed that it was conducting “control and access activities at the residence.”
This means that when the chief prosecutor is at home, he is guarded twice: once by NSO (who guards the entire complex) and once by his bodyguards from the Witness Protection Office.
The reasons for this remain unknown. It is also unknown who decided that the chief prosecutor should live alongside the president and prime minister in the government residence.
