SOFIA, Bulgaria—One of the most prominent underworld bosses, Krasimir Marinov, alias the Big Margin, was arrested in connection with the assassination of scandalous media icon Bobby Tsankov. His brother, known as the Little Margin, is still wanted by the police. So far it is unclear whether an indictment will be filed against them for ordering the murder.
“We do not know who the killer was. The initial analysis led to the conclusion that the Margin brothers have ordered the assault. Furthermore, we are clear, though at first glance, about the motive of the murder,” the State Attorney Boris Velchev said at a hearing of the Superior Judiciary Council.
Bobby Tsankov was shot dead on Jan. 5 at noon in downtown Sofia. He was accompanied by two men, who were allegedly his bodyguards, according to police sources. They were also seriously injured in the incident but their lives are not in danger.
According to the national bTV, the killers must have been professionals, as two of the bullets were found in the victim’s head, and other two in the heart area.
However, according to investigative journalist and former press attache of the National Investigation Office, Ivan Rachev, the killing of Bobby Tsankov was not an act of assault on the press freedom in Bulgaria, nor is it the next mafia crime.
Rachev presumes the killing might be aimed at diverting public attention from other important problems in the country.
“The ongoing reform in the Interior Ministry is in a total freeze. Little is done for fighting corruption and organized crime. On the other hand, the Bulgarian mafia should not be underestimated in this way. They are not so stupid to kill a man in broad daylight” said Rachev.
He points out that Bobby Tsankov was not a real journalist and the claim that his killing is a violation of media freedom in the country is a serious lie.
“He was not a writer and conducted no investigations, but only revealed how several crime orders have been executed. If he really had information, he should have gone to the police to give testimony. But he never did that,” Rachev said.
The 30-year-old Tsankov had worked as a DJ in eight radio and five TV stations, mostly in entertainment programs.
While still alive, the radio DJ claimed to have received numerous death threats. He published the scandalous book “The Secrets of the Mafia Criminals: The Direct Connection to the Underworld” and was preparing to publish his second book “The Secrets of the Mafia Criminals 2: The Drug War.”
In 2003 and 2004 the radio DJ experienced two bomb explosions next to his home in Sofia. Then for the first time he was announced to have a connection with mafia boss Anton Miltenov-Klyuna.
“You ask me if I am proud of being part of the rampant life of the underworld. I don’t know the answer to this question. But the truth is, I don’t regret a thing from what I have experienced,” said Bobby Tsankov last month, the Bulgarian Trud Daily reported.
In 2006, Tsankov was sentenced to jail for three years for fraud. Eighty preliminary investigations and nine court claims had been filed against Tsankov by audience members who had paid Tsankov large sums of money in exchange for ads that were not aired.
Tsankov’s death brings up the long-term question of the close connections of Bulgarian politicians with the crime circles in the country and their failure to tackle organized crime. Such criticism has been regular in the reports of the European Union about Bulgaria after the country became a full-rights member of the EU in 2007.
