As previously reported on DataBreaches.net, a 21-year-old Bulgarian named Teodor Iliev was arrested on June 29 and charged with allegedly committing crimes under the monikers of “Emil Külev” (“Emil Kyulev”) and “Magadans.”
[Related: “Sadly for the feds I have not been arrested” – RansomedVC]
Iliev was initially denied bond and remained in custody, although as his lawyer argued (and as DataBreaches also noted in previous coverage), the prosecution would need more evidence than to just cite posts on the internet, doxes by anonymous parties, or an amount in a crypto wallet.
Released On Recognizance
Yesterday, the Sofia Appellate Court released Iliev on his own recognizance, apparently agreeing with his defense counsel and taking the prosecutor to task. MediaPool reports the appellate judges announced (machine translation);
“There is a booklet – “Investigation of computer crimes”. Mr. Prosecutor, find it and give it to the investigators. Computer crimes are not proven with witnesses, but with expertise,” said judge Galya Georgieva to prosecutor Borislav Vladimirov in the courtroom.
According to the individual known as Kmeta, who had knowledge of the hearing and has previously acknowledged some interactions or dealings with Iliev, the judge was repeating something that Iliev had said to the court in his defense.
The judge also threatened the journalists that she wanted to be quoted correctly because otherwise this would be the last case they would be able to attend in the courtroom. MediaPool explains, “According to the constitution in Bulgaria, the consideration of cases is public, and judges do not have the right to invent arbitrary reasons to kick people out of the courtroom.”
MediaPool reports that the prosecution’s case relied upon the testimony of an anonymous witness who claimed he had seen the hacker “Emil Külev” in person and that it was Teodor Iliev. A second witness, named as Kiril Grigorov by MediaPool, claimed that Iliev is “Emil Kyulev” and that he knew that from Iliev’s girlfriend. The girlfriend denied that, however, and reportedly said that she saw in the media that Iliev was called “Kyulev.”
When asked to comment on Iliev’s release, the individual known as Kmeta told DataBreaches:
It is nice to see a strong speech from a person who was alleged for a crime he did not do. Respect to the judges who decided him to be released and scolded the investigators for the dirty and not enough evidence on the case. It is shameful a person to be hold against his will just because “i heard someone say that…”, “i’ve heard that…” or “i had a dream he is….”. we are european country and this action showed that judges sometimes also do good job. Hopefully soon they will get to speak with me, too.