Evelin Banev

The Special Prosecutor's Office has filed an indictment against Nikolay, Evgenia and Maria Banev with the Special Criminal Court, said the press office of the Appellate Special Prosecutor's Office. They have been charged with involvement in an organized crime group, tax crimes, money laundering, and unlawful possession of a weapon.

The City Court in Sofia, Bulgaria, has fined Capital Weekly judicial reporter Rossen Bossev in a defamation case presided over by a judge he had previously criticised - drawing criticism from domestic and international media watchdogs.

Officials in Bulgaria say they have frozen several bank accounts that received millions of euros transferred from Venezuela's state-owned oil company, thenewstribune.com writes. 

Chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov said Wednesday that the money was meant to be eventually sent to accounts abroad.

Bulgarian national Evelin Banev, nicknamed Brendo, appeared at the Sofia Appellate Court on Monday for the restart of the money laundering case against him and three other people.

The four defendants face charges of participating in a crime ring which engaged in the laundering of over BGN 20 M of drug-trade proceeds.

The Sofia Court of Appeals is to sit Monday on the case against Evelin Banev, AKA "Brendo", who is facing charges of money laundering.

Whether Evelin "Brendo" Banev is in Bulgaria - and whether he will appear before court on Monday has been the subject of speculation over the past months.

Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation has annulled the 20-year prison term of Bulgarian Evelin Banev AKA Brendo for drug trafficking and returned the case for retrial to the Appellate Court of Milan.

The Milan-based court is to hold a new trial within a year, according to Bulgaria's Legal World magazine and the 24 Hours daily.

The decision was taken at a 2-hour meeting.

The Specialized Criminal Court in Sofia has put on remand five of the six members of what authorities say is an organized criminal gang involved in a number of illegal activities.