Organized Crime and Coruption Project

Bobi Tsankov, a controversial journalist and media personality who had recently published articles and a book detailing his experiences with leading organized crime figures in Bulgaria, was shot dead Tueday in a daylight attack in downtown Sofia.

Two other men believed to be Tskanov’s bodyguards were also wounded in the attack, which occurred near Sofia’s St. Nedelya Cathedral, and are currently hospitalized and in critical condition.

On Tuesday night police arrested alleged mafia boss Krasimir Marinov, aka “The Big Margiun,” in connection with the murder, after raids on properties owned by Marinov and his brother Nikolay Marinov, aka “The Little Margiun.”

The following day prosecutors brought formal charges against the two Marinov brothers for ordering the murder, which prosecutors say they had planned since November of last year. Krasimir Marinov is currently being held under a court ordered 72 hour detention. Nikolay Marinov remains at large.

Another well-known organized crime figure, Stefan Bonev, aka Sako, was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the case but released without charge. Bonev had been arrested in November after chasing Tsankov through the streets of Bulgaria in his car, along with previous threats he had made against the journalist’s life.

The swift police action came after public outcry in the wake of Tueday’s murder from press freedom organizations and the EC.

“We condemn the contract-style killing of Bobi Tsankov and urge Bulgarian authorities to act swiftly and resolutely in apprehending and prosecuting all responsible for this crime,” said the Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator of the New York based Committee to Protect Journalists Nina Ognianova.

A violent history

The killing underscored long standing concerns in the international community over Bulgaria’s failure to control organized crime in the country.

“Shootings continue to be a problem that needs to be urgently addressed in Bulgaria… We hope that the Bulgarian authorities will bring those that have perpetrated this act to justice as quickly as possible,” Mark Gray, a spokesman for the European Commission, told the New York Times on Tuesday.

The killing has drawn numerous comparisons with the murder of Georgi Stoev, a former organized crime associate turned writer whose novels exposed the Bulgarian underworld. Stoev was shot dead in front of a Sofia hotel in April 2008.