The much-anticipated conclusion of Bulgaria's notorious "Octopus" criminal case has been postponed Tuesday over new witness testimony.

Instead of being provided with the evidence and the counts, defendant Aleksei Petrov, was given only a copy of the testimony of an anonymous new witness. Petrov spent about 15 minutes in the offices of the National Investigative Services.

Exactly a week ago, Sofia City Prosecutor, Nikolay Kokinov, announced the first seven charges against controversial Bulgarian businessman and former employee of the State Agency for National Security, DANS, Aleksei Petrov, are entering the court this week, however, the monitoring prosecutor in the case, Svetlozar Kostov, stated Tuesday the delay was caused by unforeseen circumstances.

Petrov, himself, declared the case is dragging on over the upcoming local and presidential elections.

The former DANS employee further said he did not recognize the witness in question, but rejected the testimony as rumors, and accused the prosecutor Kostov of corruption, demanding his removal.

Petrov, who was arrested on February 10, 2010, and spent 9 months in jail on numerous charges, before being released on house arrest and later on his own recognizance, has not been shy about political ambitions going as far as running for president. He said Tuesday he would consider such move only if Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, enters the presidential race.

The "Octopus" pointed out the case would be delayed on purpose to stop him from taking part in the fall elections, adding Borisov's only fear is direct competition between the two of them.