The individual declared by Bulgarian Conservatives a key intermediary in the financing of the ruling GERB party by the "Lev Ins" corporation, Asen Urmanov, says in 2005 he took BGN 5 000 to GERB headquarters.

In an interview for the TV channel bTV, Urmanov declared he gave the money in person to now Interior Minister in the cabinet of the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, inside the National Palace of Culture in Sofia where GERB offices were located at the time.

The witness of the Order, Law and Justice (RZS) party added Tsvetanov made him sign documents the money has been a donation and asked if he knew of any other businesses that are willing to contribute.

"I was asked personally by Aleksei Petrov to take the money so that we can "help the GERB idea," and I have done it at least one more time. I believe the same happened in GERB headquarters with "Lev Ins" affiliates all over the country. The partnership, including financing and joint projects, continued all through 2009," according to Urmanov

When asked by the TV host to offer evidence, the man said he stopped working for "Lev Ins" in 2005, and all documents are kept by the company.

The RZS Member of the Parliament, Emil Vasilev, who was also present for the interview, added this was exactly the reason why Tsvetanov raided the offices of the insurance company, but the Conservatives would make the documents public "when the time is right."

Urmanov claims he left "Lev Ins" over disagreements with Aleksei Petrov and for this reason became subject to constant pressure from the investigation after the latter's arrest to say something against his former boss, even if it was not true. After the interrogations became more and more frequent, he decided to close his own business and move abroad.

Vasilev, on his part, threw more accusations against Tsvetanov, saying the Minister has direct ties with cigarette contraband in Bulgaria and is the "hair" of the murdered, notorious underworld figure Ivan Todorov aka The Doctor.

The RZS MP offered as evidence claims the police had failed to bust even one large cigarette smuggling shipment and Tsvetanov's known strong disagreements with the Head of the Bulgarian Customs Agency, Gen. Vanyo Tanov.

Vasilev vowed to present more proof about the Conservative's latest revelations at one of the next Friday party briefings, which have become a regular occurrence in the last few months.

"We will go all the way, despite the risks and concerns about the safety of several people from the RZS team," the MP concluded.

Urmanov's name first emerged during a party briefing on October 22, when RSZ leader, Yane Yanev, disclosed "Lev Ins," a company believed to have ties with Aleksei Petrov has financed the ruling GERB party. Urmanov returned to Bulgaria on October 27 to testify for RZS.

The former secret agent of the Bulgarian State National Security Agency, DANS, Aleksei Petrov aka the Tractor, was arrested in February in special police operation codenamed "Octopus" and has been investigated for organized crime activities. Petrov was recently released under house arrest, which coincided with the Conservatives launching a series of attacks on Tsvetanov.

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