| Boris "Bobi" Tsankov | |
| Birth Date: | 1979 8, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Death Place: | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Nationality: | Bulgarian |
| Occupation: | Journalist, crime writer and radio personality |
Bobi Tsankov (; 12 August 1979 – 5 January 2010) was a Bulgarian journalist, crime writer and radio personality, who was killed in Sofia for unclear reasons.
Boris "Bobi" Tsankov[1] was born in Sofia on 12 August 1979.[2] A controversial figure,[3] [4] in 2003 he was arrested[5] and in 2006 he was convicted for fraud.[6] He has been a host for Viva Radio. In September 2009 he started publishing a series on article on the tabloid Weekend about local crime figures. On TV he claimed to be close to some of underworld bosses of Bulgaria.[7]
In November 2009 he published Secrets of the Mobsters, described as an autobiographical thriller, while according to the police it was a mix of fact and fiction.[8]
In 2004 a bomb exploded in front of Tsankov's home.[9] On 5 January 2010, he was shot dead in central Sofia in broad daylight by two gunmen. He was 30 years old. Two other men were wounded:[10] [11] they were his bodyguards according to Dnevnik while according to the police they were clients of the same law firm that Tsankov had previously visited.
Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova[12] and Nina Ognianova of the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the killing.[13] Mark Gray, a spokesperson for the European Commission, and EurActiv noted that shootings were a serious problem in Bulgaria.
Krasimir Marinov, a suspected crime boss, was arrested and charged with incitement to murder,[14] but was later freed. Authorities were seeking also his brother Nikolai Marinov. Stefan Bonev was also detained.[15] The motives of his murder remain unclear: it has been argued that it could have been related to his writings or to his frauds.[16]