Tsvetan Tsvetanov, former Bulgarian Interior Minister and current chair of the center-right GERB party, has insisted that he is innocent of the charges brought against him.

Tsvetanov relinquished his immunity from prosecution on Wednesday.

Bulgaria's former Interior Minister argued earlier on Wednesday that the charges against him were "part of the political game, implemented with the support of the prosecuting authority."

He was adamant that the investigation would never come across orders for illegal wiretapping because he had never issued them.

Asked whether he had worries about the upcoming criminal proceedings against him, Tsvetanov stated that he had never used the Interior Ministry for political purposes.

He explained that he had had no time to study the materials on the case, "but it makes no difference because I know that I am innocent."

"Our political opponents have a history of relations with powerful organized crime groups. They take this to be an attack against me, but what they do not know is that this is an attack against Bulgaria's statehood," Tsvetanov stated, as cited by the BGNES news agency.

Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov asked Parliament last week to clear the launch of a criminal investigation into Tsvetanov's activities during his term in office as Interior Minister.

Tsvetanov is accused of failing to exercise proper control over Interior Ministry officials, thereby enabling the unauthorized deployment of special surveillance equipment against high-profile politicians, magistrates and businessmen.

If found guilty, Tsvetanov faces a penalty of up to eight years in prison.

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