User:BlueForest/Bivol.bg

Bivol.bg, also known as Bivol, is an investigative media based in Bulgaria which is part of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project network and is an official partner of Wikileaks.[1] Its team comprises Atanas Tchobanov, Dimitar Stoyanov and Assen Yordanov.[2]

The European Commission has referred to one of Bivol's investigations known as Yaneva Gate in their 2016 report on Bulgaria under the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification.[3] This mechanism measures the country's progress in the area of corruption and judicial independence. In 2010, Assen Yordanov from Bivol.bg received a Leipzing Media Award,[4] which is meant to "honor journalists, publishers, authors and institutions from all over the world who dedicate themselves to ensuring and developing the freedom of the press by demonstrating willingness to take risks, strong personal commitment, persistence, courage and democratic conviction."[5] Yordanov was also nominated for an award by Reporters Without Borders in 2013.[6] In 2019, Bivol's journalist Dimitar Stoyanov received the Axel Springer Award for investigative journalism together with a colleague from the RISE Project Romania.[7]

Notable Investigations

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Yaneva Gate

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In 2015, Bivol started publishing leaked recordings of conversations between two judges from the Sofia City Court and the lawyer Momchil Mondeshki: the wiretaps were dubbed Yaneva Gate. The conversations allegedly show influence peddling, illegitimate pressure on the judiciary by Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, media mogul and politician Delyan Peevski and General Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov, corruption, and moral degradation of the courts, including sex against career promotion.[8][9][10][11] According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, "the wiretaps have once again raised questions about the judiciary’s practices, lack of separation of powers, and questionable adherence to rule of law."[12] Yaneva Gate reached the European Commission which asked Bulgarian authorities to carry out an investigation.[13] The President of Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassation Lozan Panov also publicly called for an independent investigation because Yaneva Gate "put a stain on the courts".[14] However, Bulgaria's Prosecutor's Office and the Ethics Committee of the Supreme Judicial Council refused to investigate because they deemed the recordings were manipulated.[15] By contrast, an independent examination by a foreign laboratory which Bivol contacted showed the recordings were authentic.[16] One of the judges in the conversation confirmed the recordings were authentic too.[17] Hristo Ivanov, Minister of Justice at the time, has referred to these recordings as а "mega corruption scandal."[18] In principle, an investigation is difficult because of the vertical structure of Bulgaria's Prosecutor's Office, which means that the General Prosecutor has to investigate himself.[19]

GP Gate

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In 2018, Bivol.bg published their investigation known as GP Gate, which is a joint project with RISE Project Romania. Arguably, it "exposed a complex network of consultants, businessmen and public officials that evidence indicates feasted without public oversight on projects funded by the European Union."[20] While working on their investigation in September 2018, journalist from Bivol Dimitar Stoyanov and Attila Biro from RISE Project Romania were detained by Bulgarian authorities.[21] Initially the head of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime denied that an arrest took place.[22] Subsequently, the Court of Pernik established not only there was an arrest, but also that the detainment was illegal.[23] In response to the arrest, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said it was concerned by the "verbal and physical intimidation" of the journalists by Bulgarian authorities.[24] The Council of Europe also issued an alert and monitored the case.[25]

Panama Papers in Bulgaria

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In 2018, Bivol.bg gained access to the Panama Papers under an agreement with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and subsequently published a story about the Bulgarian company Viafot which is attempting to acquire a key asset of Bulgaria's defense industry, namely the arms producer Dunarit.[26] The Panama Papers show that Viafot is owned by Alexander Angelov who is the lawyer of media mogul Delyan Peevski.[27] Previously, other Bulgarian media had reported how mysteriously all state institutions help Viafot acquire Dunarit through illegitimate means.[28][29]

References

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  1. ^ https://www.occrp.org/en/component/content/article?id=4516:why-is-bulgarian-investigative-journalism-site-bivol-being-attacked-by-other-media, Why is Bulgarian Investigative Journalism Site Bivol Being Attacked by Other Media?, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, 22 October 2015
  2. ^ https://bivol.bg/en/about-bivol.html, Bivol's Official website
  3. ^ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52016SC0015, 2016 Technical report on Bulgaria under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism
  4. ^ https://dariknews.bg/novini/obshtestvo/zhurnalistyt-asen-jordanov-poluchi-medijna-nagrada-za-svobodata-i-bydeshteto-na-presata-600198, Dariknews.bg, 11 October 2010
  5. ^ https://ecpmf.eu/old/get-involved/media-award, Information about the Leipzig Media Award on the website of the European Center for Press Media and Freedom
  6. ^ https://www.novinite.com/articles/148288/Bulgarian+Nominated+for+Netizen+of+the+Year+Award, Bulgarian Nominated for Netizen of the Year Award, Novinite.com, 28 February 2013
  7. ^ https://www.ecpmf.eu/news/ecpmf/dimitar-stoyanov-and-attila-biro-win-axel-springer-award-2019, Dimitar Stoyanov and Attila Biro win Axel Springer Award 2019, European Center for Press and Media Freedom, 3 May 2019
  8. ^ https://www.novinite.com/articles/176988/Leaked+Recording+Brings+Up+Claims+of+Bulgaria+PM%27s+Relations+with+Controversial+MP, Leaked Recording Brings Up Claims of Bulgaria PM's Relations with Controversial MP, Novinite.com, 23 October 2016
  9. ^ https://bivol.bg/en/yaneva-gate-sex-and-the-court-if-i-go-to-boyko-we-would-not-be-talking-about-wiretaps.html, Yaneva Gate – Sex and the Court: If I Go to Boyko We Would not Discuss Wiretaps, Bivol, 17 December 2015
  10. ^ https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/opinion/why-do-foreign-investors-leave-bulgaria-as-if-it-were-the-titanic/, Why do foreign investors leave Bulgaria as if it were the Titanic?, Euractiv, 11 February 2019
  11. ^ https://bivol.bg/en/yaneva-gate-bulgarian-prime-minister-bought-for-a-mistress-a-house-in-barcelona-for-1-5-million-euro.html, Yaneva Gate: Bulgarian Prime Minister Bought a 1.5 Million-Euro Barcelona House for a Mistress Evidence of the Prime Minister’s involvement in trade of influence, career promotions against sex, illegal income and tax crimes emerged, Bivol, 15 January 2016
  12. ^ https://www.occrp.org/en/27-ccwatch/cc-watch-briefs/4940-bulgaria-investigative-journalists-questioned-in-wiretap-scandal, Bulgaria: Investigative Journalists Questioned in Wiretap Scandal, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, 16 February 2016
  13. ^ https://www.occrp.org/en/27-ccwatch/cc-watch-briefs/4940-bulgaria-investigative-journalists-questioned-in-wiretap-scandal, Bulgaria: Investigative Journalists Questioned in Wiretap Scandal, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, 16 February 2016
  14. ^ http://www.bta.bg/en/c/DF/id/1220434, Top Judge Calls for Independent Body to Investigate Leaked Tapes in Yaneva Case Bulgarian News Agency, 26 November 2015
  15. ^ https://bivol.bg/en/independent-expert-examination-of-yaneva-gate-recording-rules-out-manipulation-of-content.html,Independent Expert Examination of “Yaneva Gate” Recording Rules Out Manipulation of Content, Bivol, 21 January 2016
  16. ^ https://bivol.bg/en/independent-expert-examination-of-yaneva-gate-recording-rules-out-manipulation-of-content.html,Independent Expert Examination of “Yaneva Gate” Recording Rules Out Manipulation of Content, Bivol, 21 January 2016
  17. ^ https://bivol.bg/en/participant-in-conversations-confesses-about-yaneva-gate-recordings-they-are-authentic-and-made-to-be-used-for-racketeering.html, Bivol, 19 November 2016
  18. ^ https://lex.bg/bg/news/view/63547, Lex, 9 December 2016
  19. ^ https://balkaninsight.com/2016/05/31/postponed-eu-monitoring-of-bulgaria-s-prosecution-worries-experts-05-31-2016/, Delayed EU Audit of Bulgaria Prosecution Raises Concern, Balkan Insight, 31 May 2016
  20. ^ https://www.investigativejournalismforeu.net/projects/misuse-of-eu-funds-in-romania-and-bulgaria/, Misuse of EU Funds in Romania and Bulgaria, Investigative Journalism for Europe, 14 November 2018
  21. ^ https://balkaninsight.com/2018/09/14/bulgarian-police-detain-investigative-journalists-09-14-2018/, Bulgaria Detains Journalists Probing EU Funds Fraud, Balkan Insight, 14 September
  22. ^ https://www.dnevnik.bg/bulgaria/2018/09/17/3312352_shefut_na_antimafiotite_pita_dali_bivolu_i_bi_ti_vi/, Шефът на антимафиотите пита дали "Биволъ" и Би Ти Ви ще му се извинят, че са го записали, Dnevnik, 17 September
  23. ^ https://www.coe.int/en/web/media-freedom/detail-alert?p_p_id=sojdashboard_WAR_coesojportlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_col_id=column-2&p_p_col_pos=5&p_p_col_count=10&_sojdashboard_WAR_coesojportlet_alertPK=46054590#block-member-replies, Media Freedom Alert by the Council of Europe
  24. ^ https://balkaninsight.com/2019/04/02/osce-criticises-abuse-of-bulgarian-investigative-journalist/, OSCE Criticises ‘Abuse’ of Bulgarian Investigative Journalist, Balkan Insight, 2 April 2019
  25. ^ https://www.coe.int/en/web/media-freedom/detail-alert?p_p_id=sojdashboard_WAR_coesojportlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_col_id=column-2&p_p_col_pos=5&p_p_col_count=10&_sojdashboard_WAR_coesojportlet_alertPK=46054590#block-member-replies, Media Freedom Alert by the Council of Europe
  26. ^ https://bivol.bg/en/panama-papers-controversial-mps-trusted-lawyer-owns-key-offshores-the-spectrum-of-bulgarian-kgb.html, Panama Papers: Trusted Lawyer of Controversial MP Owns Key Offshores, Ghost of Bulgarian KGB, 16 January 2019
  27. ^ https://bivol.bg/en/panama-papers-controversial-mps-trusted-lawyer-owns-key-offshores-the-spectrum-of-bulgarian-kgb.html, Panama Papers: Trusted Lawyer of Controversial MP Owns Key Offshores, Ghost of Bulgarian KGB, 16 January 2019
  28. ^ https://www.capital.bg/biznes/kompanii/2017/08/18/3026186_cialoto_peevsko_voinstvo_sreshtu_dunarit/,Цялото Пеевско войнство срещу "Дунарит", Kapital, 18 August 2017
  29. ^ https://www.capital.bg/politika_i_ikonomika/bulgaria/2017/08/31/3033806_cialoto_borisovo_voinstvo_sreshtu_dunarit/, Цялото Борисово войнство срещу "Дунарит", Kapital, 31 August 2017