* Third aquittal in five months
* Faces another court case
* Corruption a serious problem
SOFIA, March 7 (Reuters) - A military court acquitted the former defence minister of mismanagement on Monday, the third time he has been cleared of charges brought to show the European Union the country is serious at tackling graft.
The outcome of Nikolai Tsonev's latest trial will be embarrassing for the Balkan nation which has pledged to crackdown on corruption among senior officials.
Although two senior officials have been convicted in corruption cases, both remain at liberty while they appeal the verdicts.
Tsonev was cleared in two separate trials in November and February on charges of mismanagement and abuse of power respectively. [ID:nLDE71N1VB] [ID:nLDE6AG0TC]
Prosecutors said he had signed four unfavourable deals in 1999 when he was head of a department at the defence ministry which cost the public purse almost 1 million levs (${esc.dollar}717,400) and had demanded a five-year jail sentence.
Tsonev has denied any wrongdoing.
The ruling by the court can be appealed.
The government of Boiko Borisov came to power in July 2009 on promises to root out widespread corruption but some key trials have ended with acquittals, piling the pressure on the judiciary system.
Sofia must address the problem of corruption if it is to show the EU it is fit to join the bloc's borderless travel zone.
Tsonev is also standing trial for bribery after he was charged with giving 20,000 euros to block an investigation. (Reporting by Irina Ivanova; Editing by Matthew Jones)
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