А gang, who allegedly carried out a number of assassinations, is most probably behind the slaying of Bulgaria's top banker Emil Kyulev five and a half years ago, sources close to the investigation say.

A man with a camera happened accidentally to shoot on tape one of the killers, who prepared the area for the assassination and scoured it meticulously the previous day, 24 Hours daily reported, citing insiders.

In the course of more than five years after the murder nobody managed to recognize the man, who masterminded the murder and fixed the location of the shooter. Several months ago however he was identified as one of the members of "The Killers" gang – Georgi Petkov, aka Dachi.

Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov was the first to make public this version in October last year, saying that it is quite possible that "The Killers" gang had a motive and were accomplices in the murder of Emil Kyulev, even though this is not backed by any evidence for the time being.

"Rumen Rachev and lawyer Lukov, who are believed to have been murdered by the gang, have been involved in a scheme for redistribution of money, which Kyulev owed to owners of former banks," the minister explained.

Emil Kyulev, one of the richest men in Bulgaria, was being driven to work in Sofia in his BMW sports utility vehicle on October 26, 2005 when, shortly after 9:00 am he was shot and killed by a man hiding in the bushes.

Shortly after the murder the police released an e-fit picture of the suspect they are looking for. The suspect was described as being aged 28, about 170 centimeters, of slim build and hollow-cheeked face, moustaches and a beard. The man wore a hat at the time of the crime.

Kyulev was the head of DZI Group, the biggest insurance and banking firm in the country, with more than 12,000 employees and USD 585 M in assets. He was close to all the major political parties and served as an economic adviser to President Georgi Parvanov.

His murder was particularly shocking because he did not fit the profile of the smugglers, extortionists and drug dealers who were slain in a boom of organized crime-related deaths at that time.

"The Killers" gang is believed to be behind several assassinations around the country, including the murder of controversial football club president Yuriy Galev in June and businessman Rumen Rachev at the beginning of July last year.

In the middle of September police arrested for the second time the President of the Bulgarian Sumo Federation, Petar Stoyanov aka the Chieftain, over the murder of businessman Rumen Rachev last summer in the northern city of Shumen.