I don't think that the services are used as a political club . Thus, acting interior minister Kalin Stoyanov commented to "More from the day" according to the BNT action, in which the director of the "Customs" Agency Petya Bankova was detained and subsequently accused of participating in an organized criminal group.
Questions are being asked as to why this implementation has now been undertaken. One such development started a long time ago. Colleagues have made a decision and estimated the moment in which it should be held. Let us not suggest that this is done for any purpose. I was not aware of this development. Until recently, the Ministry of the Interior had no information about the prepared action of the colleagues from the National Security Agency and the Anti-Corruption Commission. This action was done very professionally and I hope it will be brought to the end, noted Kalin Stoyanov.
In response to a question, he confirmed that he knew Marin and Stefan Dimitrovi, who were accused of being smugglers: "I know them, they were often in the Ministry of Internal Affairs – whether in Mr. Rashkov's office or outside. Both I and my colleagues have been to the office for various jobs and it was impossible not to know them. Mr. Boyko Rashkov introduced me to these people. When you see people with the interior minister, with the prime minister, it is normal to assume that they are his relatives. I don't know what the reasons were for his meetings with them, he assumes that colleagues from the prosecutor's office will clarify this.
Whether the two are smugglers will become clear during the investigation. At the moment, however, it can be seen that there is a lot of evidence in this direction. This is serious reputational damage for the Ministry of the Interior and we will need time to restore the trust of the Bulgarian citizens and our Euro-Atlantic partners, added Stoyanov.
He assured that the Ministry of the Interior will not interfere in the elections in favor of GERB and DPS, as there are claims.
There is no way we can work for anyone, and if anyone thinks they can win the elections thanks to the Ministry of the Interior, they are sorely mistaken. The Ministry of the Interior has a duty to guard the elections and fight vote buying. The results of any political party depend on the activism of the citizens and the persuasiveness of the political leaders. We are committed to ensuring fair and peaceful elections. I am sure that we will manage, the Minister of the Interior stressed.
When asked if we are succeeding in convincing Austria to lift the veto over Bulgaria's entry into Schengen and by land, he stated: "I think we are succeeding. What we do does not go unnoticed".
The visits of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of Romania, Catalin Predoiu, and the European Commissioner for the Interior, Ilva Johansson, were aimed at getting a high rating, to confirm their confidence that by the end of the year, checks will also be abolished at the land borders. I'm sure that will happen. Austria's argument for the veto is that we are not dealing with illegal migration well enough. At present, everyone admits that there has been tremendous progress. The measures we adopted are already having an effect, the interior minister pointed out.
He also commented on the action in which the director of the "Customs" Agency Petya Bankova was detained and subsequently accused of participating in an organized criminal group.