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Evelin Banev ( Bulgarian: ''Евелин Банев''; October 8, 1964), also known by his nickname Brendo ( Bulgarian: ''Брендо'') is a real estate developer, published writer, and former wrestler who has been convicted of money laundering and drug trafficking. Banev became known for his
imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...
and multiple
criminal prosecution In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
s for
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
and
drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...
in
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
and
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. In July 2014, the
Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
Court of Appeal acquitted Banev of all criminal charges against him and overturned a seven and a half year sentence issued previously by the Sofia City Court. In September 2015, Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation annulled his 20-year prison term for drug trafficking and returned the case for retrial to the Appellate Court of Milan. Banev's prosecutions, criminal activities, and imprisonment have been highly controversial and
politicized Politicisation (also politicization; see English spelling differences) is a concept in political science and theory used to explain how ideas, entities or collections of facts are given a political tone or character, and are consequently assigned ...
. During his imprisonment, Banev's 10-year-old daughter was abducted and freed after almost two months in captivity. In 2015, Banev self-published a book titled ''I Gaze Upon the Soul of Bulgaria'', which he wrote during his time in prison. His second book, ''My truth (Part I)'' was published in 2016. On June 24, 2024, Banev voluntarily turned himself in to the Bulgarian authorities in Sofia.


Early life and education

Banev was born in
Burgas Burgas (, ), sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fourth-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, an ...
, Bulgaria. Since 1985, when he enrolled to the National Sports Academy, Brendo has lived in
Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
. During his time at the academy, Banev frequently traveled to international camps, tournaments and wrestling competitions representing his club "Academic - Sofia" and the Bulgarian National Wrestling Team. Banev has been awarded the "Master of Sport" title in Bulgaria and wrestled in the 74 kg category, under the instruction of Dimitar Dobrev.


Entrepreneurship

After the 1989 political changes in Eastern Europe, Banev spent most of his time outside of Bulgaria. During that time, Banev accumulated his fortune during the
Dot-com bubble The dot-com bubble (or dot-com boom) was a stock market bubble that ballooned during the late-1990s and peaked on Friday, March 10, 2000. This period of market growth coincided with the widespread adoption of the World Wide Web and the Interne ...
. He is also a real estate investor and entrepreneur involved in multiple projects in Bulgaria's riviera and capital.


Criminal prosecutions

In April 2007, the Sofia City
Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
indicted Banev for organizing a criminal group and
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
. Subsequently, Banev was arrested and released on bail. Banev's case caused a media stir again in 2008, when
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
agreed to lift its
bank secrecy Banking secrecy, alternatively known as financial privacy, banking discretion, or bank safety,Guex (2000), p. 240 is a Non-disclosure agreement, conditional agreement between a bank and its clients that all foregoing activities remain secure, Con ...
and to submit bank documentation to the Bulgarian authorities. Later, it was made public, that in its requests for judicial assistance to Switzerland, the Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office has sent false information – i.e. stating that Banev is accused of
drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...
and distribution rather than of
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
. As of May 2012, Banev's case was still pending with court hearings being postponed at the request of the prosecution. In relation to the case, various Bulgarian media and
EU commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of members of the Commission ( directorial system, informally known as "commissioners") corresponding t ...
reports commented on the groundless accusations and the
abuse of power Abuse of power or abuse of authority, in the form of "malfeasance in office" or "official abuse of power", is the commission of an Crime, unlawful act, done in an official capacity, which affects the performance of official duties. Malfeasan ...
by the prosecution. At this time, the Bulgarian authorities initiated operation "Cocaine Kings" with an overwhelming media coverage, including a press conference with the Italian authorities. During the operation, some 30 people were arrested, including Banev. Banev was accused of financing drug trafficking between South America and Europe, and Italy claimed responsibility for criminally charging him. Following operation "Cocaine Kings", Italy requested a temporary extradition of Banev, which he and his legal team fought. However, the Bulgarian Court of Appeals confirmed Banev's 1-year extradition to Italy on July 17, 2012, with the condition that he will be returned to Bulgaria when needed for his money laundering trial. The extradition hearing was not without controversy, as the court denied Banev's right to appoint a new defense attorney and rejected the request of the publicly appointed attorney for more time to familiarize herself with the case. Banev was extradited to Italy on July 26, 2012. In February 2013, Sofia City Court sentenced Banev to years in prison, while acquitting the other 3 people accused with him. Banev's lawyer, Ina Lulcheva, said that the appeal against the finding of the Sofia City Court would be based on a lack of evidence justifying the conviction. That the group had travelled together made them at most a tour group, not an organised crime group, she said. The defense further stated: :"I will not comment on the length of the sentence. The defense pleaded that there is no crime, as such the punishment is not significant. In this case, it is indicative that it was established that there is money laundered from a person, who has never even been questioned or interrogated. We have not asked that he is questioned, because there is no evidence that he has any connections with the defendants; the prosecution did not want his questioning, because in my opinion, they knew that their accusation would not be confirmed. As such, the court accepted that money is laundered from the activity of a person and his group, without even questioning this person". After a 4-month trial, in July 2013, the Milan City Court sentenced Banev to 20 years in prison for participating in a criminal organization for international drug trafficking. Banev's defense attorney stated that, "Banev has not even entered Italy" and that there is not one evidence linking him to the charges. Before the court, his attorney pointed out that all of the Milan prosecutor evidence was coming from Bulgaria, not from Italy - in Italy, Banev was never under surveillance,
wiretap Wiretapping, also known as wire tapping or telephone tapping, is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connecti ...
ped, followed, or investigated. The Italian judge who sentenced Banev, stated in an interview with a prominent Bulgarian newspaper that he highly recommends that Banev appeals the sentencing because "until now not a single evidence of Banev's guilt has been deposited; Banev has never been caught in the act of crime, and he was sentenced only by the testimonies (which were presumed truthful) of other defendants". Following the trial, Banev was returned to Bulgaria, where in July 2014, the Sofia Court of Appeal ruled him "not guilty" of money laundering and released him on probation. On September 22, 2015, Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation annulled Banev's 20-year prison term for drug trafficking and ordered a retrial to the Appellate Court of Milan. Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation upheld the sentences of all other people convicted under the "Cocaine Kings" affair. The court cited that Banev's unjust conviction was due to lack of any evidence and irregularities in the use of facts. In annulling his 20-year conviction, the court reported that Banev's
net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, so net w ...
and
political neutrality A neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, CSTO or the SCO). As a type o ...
had led to "antagonisms that motivated incorrect assessment of ispersonality". On June 24, 2024, at 7:30 in the morning, Banev surrendered voluntarily to serve his sentence. The 59-year-old Banev was accompanied by Attorney Peter Zafirov. Prepared, Banev carried a huge bag, presumably with personal belongings. Banev identified himself to a reporter and confirmed that he, ''"realizes very well what he is doing"''. Thereafter, he took out his Bulgarian identity card, as well as the necessary documents to identify himself to the guards at the prison checkpoint. The employees of the General Directorate of Execution of Punishments were among the most surprised. The authorities and the ministry of internal affairs were equally surprised and unprepared for this voluntary action by Banev.


Counter-allegations

Banev said that he was invited in writing to a meeting with the Interior Minister, Rumen Petkov, who requested Brendo's assistance – i.e. to falsely testify against “the Margin” brothers. According to Banev, his refusal to cooperate with the Minister is the main reason behind the 2007 charges for
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
against him.


Kidnapping of Banev's daughter

Banev's ten-year-old daughter, Lara, was kidnapped by three masked men at about 7:30 am on March 5, 2013, while leaving her home in Sofia. The men shot her unarmed driver twice in the back. It was the first kidnapping in Bulgaria since 2009. The motives behind the kidnapping were the cause for much speculation. In a televised press conference three days later, Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov stated that, "The kidnapping of Lara is a message to Brendo". This leads to the other suspicion - the key politicians of
Boyko Borisov Boyko Metodiev Borisov (, born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria on three separate occasions, serving a total of 9 years between 2009 and 2021, making him the country's longest-serving post-communi ...
's cabinet in resignation - Prime Minister Borisov himself, Minister of Interior Tzvetan Tzvetanov, and the Chief of th
Chief Directorate "Combating Organized Crime"
Stanimir Florov. As stated by Aleksey Petrov, "If Brendo talks about Borisov, Tzvetanov, and Florov, it will be frightening". The media states that the failing
GERB GERB, an acronym for Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (), is a conservative center-right populist political party which was the ruling party of Bulgaria during the periods between 2009–2013, 2014-2021, 2025-present and was suppor ...
party, via its two main figures, Borisov and Tzvetanov, is trying to keep the power and to win the elections at any cost - using a brutal kidnapping as a sign that "without them organized crime is coming back" while sending a signal to Banev to keep quiet. This message was clearly given by Tzvetanov himself during a TV interview in which he avoided the question "Where is Lara?" several times and finally answered, "What happened is unpleasant, but let's not forget who her father is". Lara Baneva was released, physically unharmed, on April 21, 2013; she was left in front of a police station in Sofia at approximately 10:00 pm. It was reported, but unconfirmed, that the kidnappers had originally demanded a €10 million ransom, but later agreed to free her in exchange of €530,000.


Books

In March 2015, Evelin Banev self-published a
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
titled ''I Gaze Upon the Soul of Bulgaria'', which he wrote while in prison. The spiritual novel is about the journey to
self-discovery A "journey of self-discovery" refers to a travel, pilgrimage, or series of events whereby a person attempts to determine how they feel, personally, about spiritual issues or priorities,mandala A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...
s. His second book, ''My Truth (Part I)'' was published in 2016. It is a collection of essays on various topics, ranging from Education, to Politics, to Interpersonal Relationships. In the description, Brendo writes, ''"'My Truth' heralds my self-overcoming, which I share even at the risk of having the bitter taste of my creative innovation... In this book I state only and only what the truth is for myself in a world where everything is an end, because I think deeply about whether the necessary means to achieve this end are necessarily true."''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banev, Evelin Bulgarian businesspeople 1964 births Living people Bulgarian male sport wrestlers Writers from Burgas Bulgarian gangsters 20th-century Bulgarian sportsmen