I hope there will soon be a decree for the chairman of the State Agency for National Security,“ Minister of Interior Daniel Mitov told journalists.
He stressed that the agency is not entirely within his powers and stressed that the name of the new head of the structure will be known after the coordination procedures with the president are completed. Currently, Denyo Denev is acting chairman. Chairman of the State Anti-Money Laundering Agency.
In connection with the appointment of Miroslav Rashkov as Secretary General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs by decree of the head of state, Minister Mitov pointed out that Rashkov, as acting secretary, has shown over the past year that he can cope with the position of the holder of the post.
Minister Mitov also commented on the creation of an operational group to combat money laundering. He recalled that this is a model that is used in the USA, Great Britain and other countries.
This is a model that we have been looking at for a long time. Since the beginning of the mandate. We also spoke with representatives of the FBI and during my visit to the USA we discussed how exactly this could happen in Bulgaria. Such specialized operational groups work on the basis of interactions between different institutions that are relevant to the respective topic, Mitov explained.
He pointed out that if the model works successfully, such a group could also be created to combat hybrid threats.
Minister Mitov commented on the topics during the opening of the First European Firefighting Championship, which is being held in Dolna Banya.
According to the Minister of Interior Daniel Mitov, whether Nikola Nikolov – Pascal used political patronage will be clarified within the pre-trial proceedings. This will be clarified within the pre-trial proceedings.
„At the moment, I cannot accuse anyone in such a case. We must be very careful, bearing in mind that these are cases that will last for some time. The whole truth must come out, but it is very possible“, Minister Mitov also pointed out.
“What is important is what will happen within the framework of the proceedings themselves. It is not with us, it is not in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. From now on, everything is within the competence of the prosecutor's office and, accordingly, the court. It is difficult for me to comment on details that I have no way of knowing“, he explained further.
Nikola Nikolov - Pascal has been charged with three counts - for participation in an organized criminal group, for several acts of smuggling and for possession of excise goods, which is related to the charge of smuggling, his defense attorney Dimitar Markovski told the media. Yesterday, the interrogation of Nikola Nikolov - Pascal in the anti-corruption commission continued for more than three hours, with lawyer Markovski confirming that Pascal had given explanations.
When asked about the ongoing search for the prosecutor's son Vasil Mihaylov, Mitov emphasized: “He is being sought. Data is constantly coming to us. Unfortunately, some of it was misleading. We are obliged to quickly check every signal. We have some idea, but when we have complete clarity, we will announce it“.
Minister Mitov commented on the topics during the opening of the First European Firefighting Championship, which is taking place in Dolna Banya.