Convicted ATM Thieves Lose Proceeds to Belize Bank

A pair of Bulgarian nationals, twenty-eight year old Jeorji Petrov, and twenty-five year old Halid Yuksel Aptula, convicted of theft from a Belize Bank ATM, was back before the courts today on an application for forfeiture of the money. Twenty-one thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars were found inside their apartment in the city believed to be the proceeds of the theft from the bank.  The matter became heated before Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser over claims by Attorney Oscar Selgado, on behalf of Aptula, to the effect that the prosecution was trying to ambush the defense since the application is contrary to the law regarding the confiscation of the money.  When it was all cleared up, Senior Magistrate Fraser made her ruling. Both men had pleaded guilty to eighteen counts each of theft and Aptula is believed to have been the mastermind. The duo was sentenced to one year in prison in May of 2016.  Today, Senior Magistrate Fraser ruled that a total of fourteen thousand eight hundred dollars are to be taken from the grand total found in the apartment and returned to the Belize Bank.  The remaining six thousand nine hundred dollars is to be split; the two men claimed that not all the money found was from the theft.  Petrov is to get three thousand four hundred dollars. As to Aptula, he is out in the cold since he is facing additional charges.