The first comment on whether pressure was exerted on Zivko Kotsev was made by Sofia city prosecutor Iliana Kirilova. She stated that the now-released chief secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs requested a meeting with Borislav Sarafov after officials of the Anti-Corruption Commission entered his office. Later, Kotsev himself handed over the watch from the photos published in the media to the investigators.
The meeting in Borislav Sarafov's office last Wednesday took place at the request of the chief secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, after officials of the Anti-Corruption Commission entered his office, Kirilova claims.
„While he was traveling, he called Mr. Sarafov at 9 a.m. He did not answer his phone. He called insistently and after 3-4 minutes he connected. Mr. Kotsev asked Sarafov to accept him, as something is happening that worries him and he is not clear what it is,” commented the city prosecutor of Sofia to Nova TV.
When asked in what capacity Kotsev wanted a meeting with Sarafov, Kirilova answered: “Zivko Kotsev is currently the chief secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. What he said that he was visited by the CCP, that he was worried. He is the chief secretary and wants a meeting with the chief prosecutor. And I don't see anything illegal about that. We have held a number of working meetings," Kirilova specified.
At the meeting with Sarafov, in addition to Kirilova and Kotsev, her deputy Hristo Krastev and the head of the Anti-Corruption Commission Anton Slavchev were also present. Kirilova denied that Kotsev was pressured.
„Neither Sarafov, nor Slavchev, nor Hristo Krastev put pressure on Kotsev. Or, as someone put it, jumping on his head. In front of all of us, he told us that Stefan Dimitrov called his phone early in the morning – one of the detainees. As far as I remember, he asked him what was going on. He couldn't answer him because he didn't know”, explained the city prosecutor of Sofia.
After that, Kotsev asked to be questioned about the smuggling channel case. During the interrogation, he was also provided with a lawyer, Kirilova claims. “Mr. Sarafov told him: “We rely on the fact that you are a long-term employee and that the position you occupy implies that you must be sincere,”, she specified.
The city prosecutor declined to reveal details of the investigation into the smuggling schemes, but said Kotsev's watch from the leaked photos has been turned over to investigators.
„After the interrogation, he asked to hand over this watch. He went to his office, took his personal bag, where his house key was, and handed over the watch, Kirilova explained. And he pointed out that examinations should be done to clarify whether the watch is a gift. Regarding the photos with the dog and the packs and whether they were part of the pre-trial proceedings, the city attorney said she had seen them in the media.
Following Nikolay Denkov's report of pressure on Kotsev, Kirilova pointed out that she has not yet been summoned for questioning by the judge investigating the chief prosecutor. Kotsev was not available for comment even today, but days ago he was categorical that his resignation was under threat. Because of these words of his, an investigation was started against i.f. chief prosecutor Borislav Sarafov.
We remind you that Zhivko Kotsev was dismissed from the post of Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This happened after a request from the new government to President Rumen Radev. The decree for his release was issued this morning. This was the first decision of Dimitar Glavchev's office, which asked the president to terminate Kotsev's powers. All this is happening days after the scandal in customs and the published photos of him with the accused of smuggling, money laundering and bribery Marin and Stefan Dimitrovi.