European Nations on High Alert Amid Russian Sabotage Threats
European intelligence agencies are on high alert as they warn of potential aggressive actions by Russia, including bombings, sabotage, and infrastructure damage across the continent.
A second indictment will be filed on Monday against former Bulgarian intelligence head Kircho Kirov, the prosecution says.
Kirov, found guilty of large scale-embezzlement last year (becoming the first high-profile Bulgarian official sentenced to jail time), had his sentence overturned by a last-instance court.
But the Bulgarian Chief Prosecutor's spokesperson announced on Monday he would be brought before court over another count of embezzlement.
Kirov headed the State Intelligence Agency (until 2015 named National Intelligence Service) between 2002 and 2012.
He allegedly took BGN 5.1 M in budget funding between 2007 and 2011 for activities the intelligence agency did not carry out subsequently.
One of his subordinates acted as his accomplice, according to spokesperson Rumyana Arnaudova.
The activities Kirov cited submitting his budget requests to the government had been carried out back in 1999.
The former spy chief maintained during his first trial, which involved the alleged embezzlement of BGN 4.7 M, that the charges against him were politically motivated.
However, as the court sittings on that trial were ongoing, Kirov's mention of money used for four intelligence operations led prosecutors to look into expenses for the activities in question traced back to 1999.
In the pretrial proceedings leading to the second indictment, 15 intelligence officers were inquired and all of them denied having carried out the activities or receiving any money for them, according to Arnaudova.
Kirov headed the intelligence agency under three Prime Ministers, namely Boyko Borisov, Sergey Stanishev, and Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
A 37-year-old man from Stara Zagora has been detained after physically assaulting his two daughters
In the ongoing trial at the Central Criminal Court in London, the prosecutor, Alison Morgan, emphasized that the Bulgarians accused of spying for Russia
A man was arrested after stabbing another driver following a traffic accident in Sofia
A Bulgarian man, 39-year-old Mariyan Grudev, has been sentenced to life in prison in England for rape and attempted rape
The Sofia City Court has ordered a 22-year-old woman, who stabbed three passers-by in the capital, to be placed in the psychiatric clinic at Lovech prison for a 30-day examination
Pre-trial proceedings have been launched for attempted murder following a knife attack in Sofia that left three men injured
Bulgaria's Perperikon: A European Counterpart to Peru's Machu Picchu
Bulgarians Among EU's Least Frequent Vacationers, Struggling with Affordability