A Serbian court has approved the extradition of former Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) governor Stoyan Mavrodiev to Bulgaria, his lawyer Emanuil Yordanov confirmed.
The decision was taken in a closed session after Mavrodiev himself submitted a request expressing consent to be returned to Bulgaria. According to his defense, the ruling will not be appealed, and the Serbian and Bulgarian authorities must now coordinate the details of his transfer.
The extradition documents have already been sent to the Serbian Embassy in Bulgaria. Mavrodiev is expected to be escorted back to the country within the coming days, although the procedure has not yet been fully completed.
Yordanov has repeatedly stated that his client intends to return voluntarily and participate in the criminal proceedings against him. “We both agreed that he should return and actively participate in the ongoing criminal case. When he is absent, all kinds of speculation about him are possible, and he cannot respond to them,” the lawyer said previously.
Mavrodiev was detained in Belgrade in early June after nearly two years on the run. Bulgarian authorities declared him wanted in August 2024 in connection with an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission into the alleged embezzlement of a 150 million leva loan issued by the Bulgarian Development Bank.
