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Former Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, is on a cross-country tour as head of the election headquarters of center-right party GERB. Photo by GERB
Three out of the four senior policemen who were charged in the scandal with unauthorized spying in Bulgaria have told the investigators they acted on the verbal orders of former Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov.
The news was reported Friday by the Bulgarian Pressa (Press) daily.
The admission that the vehicles with spying equipment have been used on Tsvetanov's verbal orders makes him the main instigator of the illegal wiretapping.
Last Tuesday, the Sofia prosecuting authority announced that there was sufficient evidence indicating that Tsvetanov had committed a crime.
The testimony of the three policemen would not automatically lead to the dropping of all charges against them, however, the sanctions could be much lighter on grounds of collaborating with the authorities.
Their admissions also seriously change the situation with Tsvetanov as he now faces up to 8 years in jail if proven guilty and convicted.
Pressa further writes that the names of the three are being kept secret by the prosecution on grounds of preserving their safety.
Charges cannot be pressed against Tsvetanov since he is now running for Parliament, and therefore has immunity.
The cases against three former directors of the Specialized Directorate Technical Operations of the Interior Ministry (SDOTO), Sergey Katsarov, Kamen Kostov and Tsvetan Ivanov, and one Kostov's subordinate - Radko Dimitrov - are now frozen temporarily until the issue with the former Interior Minister's immunity is resolved.
Tsvetanov, who is on a cross-country tour as head of the election headquarters of center-right party GERB, said he will give up immunity after the May 12 snap general elections.
"I fully back Tsvetan Tsvetanov," Borisov said on Wednesday.
Kokinov resigned as city prosecutor and magistrate on the same day the recording was leaked.
A specialized police operation targeting vote buying has led to the arrest of three individuals in the town of Byala Slatina, authorities confirmed
Three of the four foreign nationals injured in the knife attacks in central Sofia have been discharged from hospital after receiving medical treatment, health institutions confirmed
Authorities in Sofia have seized a significant quantity of narcotics during a coordinated operation
Bulgarian authorities carried out a targeted operation in Burgas to combat election-related crimes, resulting in six people being detained. Three of the cases led to pre-trial proceedings, while the other three were documented in official files.
Acting Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov opened a cabinet meeting by addressing the ongoing issue of road safety and corruption in Bulgaria, calling the misuse of funds for road repairs “theft of life.”
Bulgaria registered a total of 80,348 crimes in 2025, according to the annual report from the Interior Ministry published on Monday.
A young man from Chirpan has died after spending months in a coma following a violent assault that reportedly began over a dispute involving cigarettes
A 53-year-old man with a criminal record has been detained in Bulgaria during a targeted police operation against vote buying, carried out in the village of Brestnitsa in the Lovech region
A criminal network linked to Bulgaria has been accused of defrauding dozens of elderly people in northern Greece through an elaborate telephone scam that resulted in losses exceeding 600,000 euros, according to Kathimerini.
A premeditated murder investigation is underway after a violent incident in the village of Kokalyane near Sofia, where a man is accused of fatally stabbing another person inside a garage that had been adapted for living
Italian authorities have launched an investigation into a large-scale scheme involving the illegal export of hazardous waste to Eastern Europe, with five Bulgarian nationals among those under scrutiny
Authorities in Bulgaria report a significant escalation in efforts to combat election-related violations, with 183 individuals detained in connection with crimes against electoral rights
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