The threats made to the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior Georgi Kandev are probably related to his active work and successful actions against vote buying in the country. This was said in "The Day Begins" by the acting Minister of Interior Emil Dechev.
„First of all, I think that the reason for such threats is mostly his good work. The energy that he showed within these two months, which led to successful actions in many places in the country, the elimination and prevention of vote buying, and when it happened - for its disclosure. Secondly, this shows that there is still the so-called. behind the scenes – people who are not at the head of the state, but somehow control, those who at least until recently were at the head of the state, still have enormous self-confidence to afford such threats.“
From the words of the Minister of Internal Affairs, it became clear that the threats were related to the fact that pre-trial proceedings would be initiated against him, that he would be brought as a defendant for extortion or bribery. When asked whether they had compromising material against Kandev, he replied that “they could create“ – such was the information of the Secretary General from several different places. According to him, such actions would undermine the authority of the Secretary General.
“Even if it is not convincing, but if one part hesitates regarding the authority of one person, the work has an effect anyway“, Dechev also commented.
Emil Dechev also explained who the so-called "Kartofa" - according to him, he has had many convictions, including prison sentences.
"At one point, his company managed to gain something like a monopoly on roadside assistance on highways in Bulgaria. He was financed by the Bulgarian state to provide roadside assistance on highways."
According to Dechev, "Kartofa" is not alone:
„There is no way that a Kartof can be alone. I don't know exactly how big the vegetable is, but there are certainly other potatoes, and they may be higher in botany and vegetable production.
How far does it go?
There is always a peak, unfortunately, the peak cannot always be discovered and evidence is found," commented Dechev.
The acting Interior Minister commented that, purely theoretically, there is no obstacle for the new Minister of Interior to leave the current Acting Secretary General in office. He explained that the Secretary General is the highest professional position in the Ministry of Interior and is not a political figure.
According to Dechev, the problem with threats is a symptom of a broader crisis, namely that in Bulgaria there are strong and influential people and organizations that are considered stronger than the state itself. He compared it to “hacking“ of the institutions.
„The institutions have been hacked from the top to serve, instead of the state interest, a certain private interest. This is a symptom of the crisis of our country. Over the years, it has obviously been worked so that the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not serve the public interest, but serves certain private interests.“
He did not name names.
Emil Dechev commented on the activities of the former director of the Sofia Investigation Service, then an investigator in the National Police of the Republic of Bulgaria, Petyo Petrov, that his influence was strong not only in the judiciary.
„It turns out that he was also interested in staffing in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It turns out that in his archive a resume of a former director of an institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is found. The question arises as to how this resume ended up at an institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. How and why is he interested in this person and thirdly - did he manage to influence the appointment of this institute.“
In the case of “Petrohan“, Dechev indicated that the shell casing found next to the former hut is important for the investigation into the case. He explained that it was found during a regular inspection.
“An expert examination has been ordered at the National Institute of Forensic Science, work is underway on this examination. I hope there will be a conclusion soon. It was important because it was claimed that there were four shots fired, and only 3 shell casings had been found so far, which raised doubts and distrust.“
He said that for now the version remains that there was no external interference by either Okolchitsa or Petrohan.