The former Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, and now an MP from "Progressive Bulgaria", Petar Todorov, did not know in advance about the arrest four years ago of GERB leader Boyko Borisov, the party's PR Sevdelina Arnaudova and the former Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov.
This was stated before the Sofia City Court by Yavor Simov, who headed the press center of the Ministry of Interior when Boyko Rashkov was the minister, BNR informs.
In addition to him, testimony in the case for official misconduct against former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov was also given by Ivan Madzharov, an investigating police officer who was present at Borisov's detention on March 17, 2022
Simov quotes Todorov's words the day after the arrests:
"How do you do it without me being reported?".
Simov stated that he himself learned about the operation in the homes of Borisov, Arnaudova and Goranov... after it began.
Under oath, Yavor Simov said that on March 17, 2022, at 7:30 p.m., he was summoned to the Council of Ministers and upon entering the Prime Minister's office, former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and former Ministers of Finance and Interior - Assen Vassilev and Boyko Rashkov - shouted "raised" in one voice that Borisov has been arrested.
Simov claims that the first press release, which also mentions Menda Stoyanova as a detainee, and that there is an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office, was dictated to him personally by Asen Vassilev. According to him, the former Finance Minister and former Prime Minister Petkov insisted that the GERB leader be handcuffed because "the Bulgarian people want to see Boyko Borisov in handcuffs", he quotes them.
After the intervention of Yavor Simov himself, with whom Boyko Rashkov also agreed, the former Interior Minister told someone on the phone to tell the police officers in Bankya that "if there are no prerequisites under the law, handcuffs should not be put on".
Again, according to Simov, the topic was discussed in Kiril Petkov's office a month before the arrests. It was said that Borisov had bags of money in Bankya and in monasteries, and an active participant in the conversation was a media advisor to the former prime minister, whose name he did not remember.
The case continues on October 27, when former Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior Petar Todorov and the head of the National Security Service Emil Tonev will give testimony.