Sofia police are questioning Bulgaria's Former Mufti Nedim Gendzhev on suspicions of being involved in illegally withdrawing huge sums from the accounts of the Chief Mufti Office, officials told journalists.

The press conference that Gendzhev was scheduled to give at midday has been cancelled.

Sofia police General Rumen Stoyanov refused to disclose the reasons for taking Gendzhev to the police headquarters or confirm his arrest as reported earlier.

A day earlier Bulgaria's Chief Mufti Mustafa Hadzhi accused his predecessor of being involved in illegally withdrawing nearly BGN 1 M from two accounts of the Chief Mufti Office and transferring them to his son's private foundation.

Talking to the morning broadcast of private TV channel bTV, Gendzhev violently denied the accusations. He reiterated that the money was transferred in a bid to hide them from the current leaders of the Mufti Chief Office, who, in his words, are illegitimate.

It was not immediately clear whether the former mufti interrogation was in connection with these allegations or the probe into embezzled donations, which were to be distributed by the Bulgarian Red Cross to the Chief Mufti Office.

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