Judge Chenalova Detained for 72 Hours at National Investigative Service

Sofia, April 14 (BTA) - Sofia City Court judge Roumyana
Chenalova has been detained for 72 hours at the remand centre of
the National Investigative Service, sources from the
prosecution authority said on Wednesday.

The Prosecution Office said on Tuesday that Chenalova was put on
a national wanted list after failing to appear in court,
followed by an order to be brought forcefully to the court room
by the competent authorities. Chenalova was duly summoned within
pre-trial proceeding instituted against her for office
malfeasance and documentary fraud. It transpired later on
Tuesday that she was not found at the indicated addresses for
service because she was undergoing medical examinations at a
health establishment in her native town of Stara Zagora.

On Wednesday the prosecution authority confirmed Chenalova's
arrest saying it will apply for her permanent remand.

The first disciplinary procedure against Chenalova was
instituted by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on December 17,
2014 in connection with a bankruptcy case against two
Bulgarian subsidiaries of France's Belvedere Group: Belvedere
Distribution and Domain Menada. French Ambassador to Sofia
Xavier Lapeyre de Cabanes has expressed doubts about the
manner in which the case had been assigned to Chenalova and
accused Velkov, appointed by the judge as a temporary
trustee-in-bankruptcy for the two companies, of abusing the
law so as Belvedere would be dispossessed of its two Bulgarian
subsidiaries even after they paid up their alleged debts to
the alleged creditors.

In January 2015, the SJC suspended Chenalova as SCC judge for
six months on account of this disciplinary procedure, which is
also looking into possible bias shown by Chenalova about the
Belvedere case in a public statement. A third breach concerns
the delay of nearly 50 cases allocated to Chenalova.