The crime writer Georgi Stoev, who was shot dead in downtown Sofia, has previously refused to be protected by the police as a witness, Sofia Prosecutor Nikolay Kokinov announced Tuesday.

The victim claimed he was ready to testify against the prominent underworld figure Mladen Mihalev, dubbed Madzho but on condition that the Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev and the Interior Minister Rumen Petkov would not be informed about that.

Kokinov said he was obliged to report the information received to the state's chief prosecutor and denied Stoev's statement that the interior minister was to reveal the evidence to Mihalev.

"I cannot guess why the writer refused our help but we lost interest in a witness, who did not want to be a real one," Kokinov explained.

He confirmed the author of books, describing the dark side of lives of Bulgaria's underworld bosses, was in touch with the Prosecutor's Office for a year and a half.

"I think the works of Stoev are just a fiction. He tried to exaggerate his role against the background of all that happened in Bulgaria," Kokinov said in an interview for bTV channel.

"I doubt he was the most competent person in the country as far as the organized crime was concerned," the prosecutor ended.

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