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Bivol.bg

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Bivol.bg
TypeInvestigative media
FormatWebsite
Owner(s)Assen Yordanov
Editor-in-chiefAtanas Tchobanov
Staff writersAtanas Tchobanov, Dimitar Stoyanov, Vildan Bayryamova, Tatiana Christi, Nikolay Marchenko
Language
  • Bulgarian
  • English
  • French
  • Russian
CountryBulgaria
Websitewww.bivol.bg

Bivol.bg, also known as Bivol, is an investigative media based in Bulgaria which is part of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project network and an official partner of WikiLeaks.[1]

Team

[edit]

Its team comprises Atanas Tchobanov, Dimitar Stoyanov and Assen Yordanov.[2] Tchobanov is a member of the executive committee of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.[3]

Yaneva Gate

[edit]

The European Commission has referred to one of Bivol's investigations known as Yaneva Gate in their 2016 report on Bulgaria under the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification.[4] This mechanism measures the country's progress in the area of corruption and judicial independence. In 2010, Assen Yordanov from Bivol.bg received a Leipzing Media Award,[5] which is meant to "honor journalists, publishers, authors and institutions from all over the world who dedicate themselves to ensuring and developing the freedom of the press by demonstrating willingness to take risks, strong personal commitment, persistence, courage and democratic conviction."[6] Yordanov was also nominated for an award by Reporters Without Borders in 2013.[7] In 2019, Bivol's journalist Dimitar Stoyanov received the Axel Springer Award for investigative journalism together with a colleague from the RISE Project Romania.[8]

BIRD project

[edit]

In 2020, Bivol journalists Atanas Tchobanov and Dimitar Stoyanov started the BIRD project, which stands for Bureau for Investigative Reporting and Data.[9]

Notable Investigations

[edit]

Yaneva Gate

[edit]

In 2015, Bivol started publishing leaked recordings of conversations between two judges from the Sofia City Court, Rumyana Chenalova and Vladimira Yaneva, and the lawyer Momchil Mondeshki: the wiretaps were dubbed Yaneva Gate. The conversations allegedly show influence peddling, illegitimate pressure on the judiciary by Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, media mogul and politician Delyan Peevski and General Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov, corruption, and moral degradation of the courts, including sex against career promotion.[10][11][12][13] According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, "the wiretaps have once again raised questions about the judiciary’s practices, lack of separation of powers, and questionable adherence to rule of law."[14] Yaneva Gate reached the European Commission which asked Bulgarian authorities to carry out an investigation.[14] The President of Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassation Lozan Panov also publicly called for an independent investigation because Yaneva Gate "put a stain on the courts".[15] However, Bulgaria's Prosecutor's Office and the Ethics Committee of the Supreme Judicial Council refused to investigate because they deemed the recordings were manipulated.[16] By contrast, an independent examination by a foreign laboratory which Bivol contacted showed the recordings were authentic.[16] One of the judges in the conversation confirmed the recordings were authentic too.[17] Hristo Ivanov, Minister of Justice at the time, has referred to these recordings as а "mega corruption scandal."[18] In principle, an investigation is difficult because of the vertical structure of Bulgaria's Prosecutor's Office, which means that the General Prosecutor has to investigate himself.[19]

GP Gate

[edit]

In 2018, Bivol.bg published their investigation known as GP Gate, which is a joint project with RISE Project Romania. Arguably, it "exposed a complex network of consultants, businessmen and public officials that evidence indicates feasted without public oversight on projects funded by the European Union."[20] While working on their investigation in September 2018, journalist from Bivol Dimitar Stoyanov and Attila Biro from RISE Project Romania were detained by Bulgarian authorities.[21] Initially the head of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime Ivaylo Spiridonov denied that an arrest took place.[22] Subsequently, the Court of Pernik established not only there was an arrest, but also that the detainment was illegal.[23] In response to the arrest, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said it was concerned by the "verbal and physical intimidation" of the journalists by Bulgarian authorities.[24] The Council of Europe also issued an alert and monitored the case.[25] Reporters Without Borders publicly condemned the arrests.[26]

Panama Papers in Bulgaria

[edit]

In 2018, Bivol.bg gained access to the Panama Papers under an agreement with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and subsequently published a story about the offshore company Viafot which is attempting to acquire a key asset of Bulgaria's defense industry, namely the arms producer Dunarit.[27] The Panama Papers show that Viafot is owned by Alexander Angelov who is the lawyer of media mogul Delyan Peevski.[27] Previously, other Bulgarian media had reported how mysteriously all state institutions help Viafot acquire Dunarit through illegitimate means.[28][29] However, the Prosecutor's Office has not started an inquiry.

Boyko Atanasov's Case

[edit]

Bivol.bg have shed light on the corrupt practices of Bulgaria's Prosecutor's Office by interviewing investigator Boyko Atanasov. Atanasov was subjected to pressure because he exposed the existence of a special secret unit "directly subordinate to General Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and controversial businessman, media mogul and lawmaker Delyan Peevski."[30] Atanasov claims the unit "deals with concealing crimes and tipoffs against people close to the government, and at the same time, uses signals and tipoffs to blackmail the inconvenient."[30] Atanasov revealed that "the members of the special unit can’t pursue cases based on their own judgment, but must work according to Tsatsarov’s orders and instructions, otherwise they face salary reduction, disciplinary proceedings and work overload.”[31] The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project has reported that "Atanasov took a TV crew to show them trash containers at the Sofia Investigation Office filled with shredded business contracts and documents from interrogations, including the collapse of Corporate Commercial Bank, the fourth largest private lender in Bulgaria. He insisted that the documents were destroyed immediately after he gave his first interview to Bivol."[31]

In 2019, Bivol interviewed a second investigator, Radiana Abdulova, who confirmed there was a special unit at the Prosecutor's Office which whitewashes politicians and attacks critics and opponents of the government.[32]

Apartment Gate

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In 2019, Bivol.bg contributed to shedding light on suspicious deals of Bulgaria's political and administrative elite in the so-called Apartment Gate scandal which reached international media such as The Financial Times.[33] Bivol.bg reported on a suspicious transaction by the Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Combating Corruption Anton Slavchev (jurist) who failed to declare the full price of his apartments and a glass-paneled terrace of 244 square meters.[34] They also reported that the Chairman of the Committee for Combatting Corruption Plamen Georgiev engaged in document fraud.[35][36] Following the allegations, Georgiev went on leave, so that the circumstances of the case could be verified, which, in practice, means he will be investigated by his deputy Slavchev.[34] Georgiev resigned in July 2019, but no consequences followed for his failure to declare his property.[37]

Radio Free Europe Bulgaria reported that the girlfriend of Deputy General Prosecutor Ivan Geshev, Detelina Hancheva, with whom he has two daughters is in a business relationship with the main witness in a case in which Geshev is a prosecutor. His girlfriend has stakes in the construction sector.[38] In August 2019, the prosecution confirmed the information was true, but refused to open an inquiry.[39]

Piracy in Bulgarian Waters

[edit]

In 2018, Bivol published their investigation describing how the Libyan tanker BADR was hijacked in Bulgarian waters by suspicious private enforcement agents with forged documents.[40] Bivol assert this is an unprecedented pirate attack in the Black Sea which was facilitated by Bulgarian institutions.[41]

Garbage Gate

[edit]

In 2020, Bivol broke the story of how the Italian Mafia was exporting dangerous waste to Bulgaria, thus jeopardizing the health of Bulgarian citizens.[42] In October 2020, Bivol warned that Hristo Kovachki continued to burn dangerous waste in the Bobovdol thermal electric power station despite concerns.[43]

Illegal Logging Gate

[edit]

In 2022, Bivol published a story on what it calls "the timber mafia" - corrupt networks engaging in illegal felling of trees which benefit from state protection.[44]

Prosecutors' Party Gate

[edit]

In 2022, Bivol published pictures and videos from a party of Bulgarian prosecutors and investigators held during working hours in one of the buildings of the prosecution. The party involved the consumption of alcohol during working hours in violation of the code of ethics of magistrates. Bivol claims many of the attendees went home by car driving under the influence of alcohol. They also used the story to shed light on the schemes employed by the prosecution to increase the salaries of prosecutors.[45]

Threats against Their Work

[edit]

In 2019, Tchobanov complained that Bulgaria's Prosecutor's Office had issued a European Investigation Order against him - Tchobanov, who lives in France, argued that this was deliberate harassment by then General Prosecutor of Bulgaria Sotir Tsatsarov aimed at silencing him.[46] In 2022, Yordanov revealed that there was an attempt on his life with the participation of a high-ranking prosecutor.[47]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Partners, OCCRP. "Why is Bulgarian Investigative Journalism Site Bivol Being Attacked by Other Media?". www.occrp.org.
  2. ^ "Bivol's Official website". bivol.bg. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019.
  3. ^ "RSF Condemns the Arrest of Two Investigative Journalists in Bulgaria". Novinite.com. 22 September 2018. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Technical report on Bulgaria under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism". eur-lex.europa.eu. 2016. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Журналистът Асен Йорданов получи медийна награда "За свободата и бъдещето на пресата"" [Journalist Asen Yordanov received a media award "For the freedom and future of the press"]. Dariknews.bg (in Bulgarian). 11 October 2010. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Information about the Leipzig Media Award". ECPMF.eu. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Bulgarian Nominated for Netizen of the Year Award". Novinite.com. 28 February 2013. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Dimitar Stoyanov and Attila Biro win Axel Springer Award 2019". ECPMF.eu. 3 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019.
  9. ^ "about". Bureau of Investigative Reporting and Data - BIRD.
  10. ^ [1] Archived 2019-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, Leaked Recording Brings Up Claims of Bulgaria PM's Relations with Controversial MP, Novinite.com, 23 October 2016
  11. ^ [2] Archived 2019-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, Yaneva Gate – Sex and the Court: If I Go to Boyko We Would not Discuss Wiretaps, Bivol, 17 December 2015
  12. ^ [3] Archived 2020-11-12 at the Wayback Machine, Why do foreign investors leave Bulgaria as if it were the Titanic?, Euractiv, 11 February 2019
  13. ^ [4] Archived 2019-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, Yaneva Gate: Bulgarian Prime Minister Bought a 1.5 Million-Euro Barcelona House for a Mistress Evidence of the Prime Minister’s involvement in trade of influence, career promotions against sex, illegal income and tax crimes emerged, Bivol, 15 January 2016
  14. ^ a b [5] Archived 2019-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, Bulgaria: Investigative Journalists Questioned in Wiretap Scandal, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, 16 February 2016
  15. ^ [6] Archived 2019-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, Top Judge Calls for Independent Body to Investigate Leaked Tapes in Yaneva Case Bulgarian News Agency, 26 November 2015
  16. ^ a b [7] Archived 2019-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, Independent Expert Examination of “Yaneva Gate” Recording Rules Out Manipulation of Content, Bivol, 21 January 2016
  17. ^ [8] Archived 2019-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, Svobodna Evropa (Free Europe Bulgaria), Връзката Пеевски-Цацаров-СГС: сигналът до ЕК, предшестващ ареста на Ченалова, 5 March 2019
  18. ^ [9] Archived 2019-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, Христо Иванов: Съдебната власт е зацапана с всякакви влияния и не може да бъде имунна система, Lex, 9 December 2016
  19. ^ [10] Archived 2019-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, Delayed EU Audit of Bulgaria Prosecution Raises Concern, Balkan Insight, 31 May 2016
  20. ^ "Misuse of EU Funds in Romania and Bulgaria". InvestigativeJournalismForEU.net. 14 November 2018. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019.
  21. ^ Dimitrov, Martin; Luca, Ana Maria (14 September 2018). "Bulgaria Detains Journalists Probing EU Funds Fraud". BalkanInsight.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019.
  22. ^ "Шефът на антимафиотите пита дали "Биволъ" и Би Ти Ви ще му се извинят, че са го записали" [Anti-mafia boss asks if Buffalo and BBC will apologize for recording him]. Dnevnik (in Bulgarian). 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019.
  23. ^ [11] Archived 2019-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, Media Freedom Alert by the Council of Europe
  24. ^ Dimitrov, Martin (2 April 2019). "OSCE Criticises 'Abuse' of Bulgarian Investigative Journalist,". BalkanInsight.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019.
  25. ^ [12] p_p_id=sojdashboard_WAR_coesojportlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_col_id=column-2&p_p_col_pos=5&p_p_col_count=10&_sojdashboard_WAR_coesojportlet_alertPK=46054590#block-member-replies "Protection and safety of journalists". Archived from the original on 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2019-06-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), Media Freedom Alert by the Council of Europe
  26. ^ "RSF condemns the arrest of two investigative journalists in Bulgaria". Reporters Without Borders. 21 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019.
  27. ^ a b [13] Archived 2019-05-08 at the Wayback Machine, Panama Papers: Trusted Lawyer of Controversial MP Owns Key Offshores, Ghost of Bulgarian KGB, 16 January 2019
  28. ^ "Цялото Пеевско войнство срещу "Дунарит"". www.capital.bg.
  29. ^ [14] Archived 2019-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, Цялото Борисово войнство срещу "Дунарит", Kapital, 31 August 2017
  30. ^ a b [15] Archived 2019-05-10 at the Wayback Machine, Bulgarian Whistleblower Investigator Under Mounting Pressure, Bivol, 5 March 2018
  31. ^ a b "Bulgaria: Prosecutor General's 'Special Unit' Said to Blackmail Politicians". www.occrp.org.
  32. ^ [16] Archived 2019-11-12 at the Wayback Machine, "New Allegations of ‘Special Prosecutor’s Squad’ Emerge", Bivol.bg, 7 July 2019
  33. ^ [17] Archived 2019-06-19 at the Wayback Machine, Bulgaria’s ‘apartmentgate’ infuriates struggling citizens, Financial Times, 25 April 2019
  34. ^ a b [18] Archived 2019-05-12 at the Wayback Machine, Deputy of Bulgaria’s Anti-Corruption Boss Also Fails to Declare Full Price of Apartment and Terrace, Bivol, 3 April 2019
  35. ^ [19] Archived 2019-10-05 at the Wayback Machine, Bulgaria’s Anti-Corruption Boss’ Tax Declaration Reeks of Document Fraud, Bivol, 27 March 2019
  36. ^ [20] Archived 2019-08-09 at the Wayback Machine, Bulgaria’s ‘ApartmentGate’ Scandal Engulfs Anti-Corruption Chief, Balkan Insight, 1 April 2019
  37. ^ [21] Archived 2019-08-07 at the Wayback Machine, Novinite, 31 July 2019
  38. ^ [22] Archived 2019-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, Иван Гешев е свързан с основния свидетел по делото срещу Иванчева, Radio Free Europe Bulgaria, 17 May 2019
  39. ^ [23] Archived 2019-08-07 at the Wayback Machine, Prosecution reveals "friendly relations" between Geshev and Vaklin's copartner, Radio Free Europe, 6 August 2019
  40. ^ [24] Archived 2019-12-06 at the Wayback Machine, Pirate Attack against a Libyan Tanker in the Bay of Burgas, Bivol.bg, 31 December 2018
  41. ^ Биволъ, Екип (January 10, 2019). "Не пирати, а корсари: Kой отвлече либийския танкер БАДР?". Archived from the original on November 12, 2019.
  42. ^ [25] Archived 2020-11-28 at the Wayback Machine, People investigated for connections with the Camorra and the Ndrangheta have delivered 9000 tons of waste to Bulgaria, Bivol.bg, 5 January 2020
  43. ^ [26] Archived 2021-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, Kovachki continues to burn waste in Bobovdol?, Bivol, 17 October 2020
  44. ^ https://bivol.bg/%d0%b4%d1%8a%d1%80%d0%b2%d0%b5%d0%bd%d0%b0%d1%82%d0%b0-%d0%bc%d0%b0%d1%84%d0%b8%d1%8f-%d0%b7%d0%b0%d0%b3%d1%80%d0%b0%d0%b1%d0%b2%d0%b0-%d0%bd%d0%be%d0%b2%d0%b8-%d0%b4%d0%b5%d1%81%d0%b5%d1%82%d0%ba.html, The timber mafia steals tens of millions with illegal logging, Bivol.bg, 14 April 2022
  45. ^ https://bivol.bg/%d0%ba%d0%b0%d1%84%d0%b5-%d1%81%d0%bb%d0%b5%d0%b4%d1%81%d1%82%d0%b2%d0%b8%d0%b5%d1%82%d0%be-%d1%81%d1%82%d0%be%d0%bb%d0%b8%d1%87%d0%bd%d0%b8%d1%82%d0%b5-%d1%81%d0%bb%d0%b5%d0%b4.html, Investigation Café: Investigators Drink at Work; Go Home by Car, Bivol.bg, 22 October 2022
  46. ^ https://news.bg/crime/s-evropeyska-zapoved-razsledvat-glavniya-redaktor-na-bivol.html, Bivol's Editor-in-Chief is Being Investigated with a European Order, News.bg, 1 August 2019
  47. ^ https://frognews.bg/obshtestvo/naroden-glas/asen-iordanov-bivola-prokuror-lider-politicheska-partiia-porachaha-ubiistvoto.html, Assen Yordanov from Bivol: "A prosecutor and a leader of a political party ordered my murder", Frognews, 18 January 2022
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