By Alexander Krassimirov
February 17 – Alexander Tomov (pictured), the largest shareholder in Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia, one of the country’s top four clubs, faces 10 years in prison if convicted of fraud charges brought against him by Bulgarian prosecutors.
Prosecutors in Bulgaria requested the arrest of the former chairman of the board of the largest metallurgical plant in Bulgaria Kremikovtsi and current lead shareholder in CSKA. The prosecution insists that a 10 year sentence is the minimum amount they will be looking for.
Tomov is accused of siphoning off nearly BGN 29 million from the already inoperative metallurgical plant and €3.5 million from CSKA in his previous spell at the club in 2008 when he was president.
The prosecution also asked the court to determine the same sentences for three other defendants in the case – Alexander Garibov (former CEO of CSKA), Ivan Ivanov and Bozhko Bonev. The prosecution demanded they be deprived of the right to occupy managerial positions and that their property is seized.
According to the prosecution, Tomov played an active role in selecting the members of the Supervisory Board of CSKA Sofia and after the withdrawal of bank credit for the club, only Tomov and Garibov were able to access the account. According to the indictment, the money was not used to finance the club, but was diverted to Tomov and Garibov personally.
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