Yulian Yankov, known by the nickname Kartofa, voluntarily surrendered to the Greek authorities in Halkidiki. Later, the Greek services detained him after information provided by the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior. Yankov is wanted under a European arrest warrant issued at the request of the District Prosecutor's Office in Stara Zagora.
“I decided to surrender myself voluntarily to the Greek authorities“, Yankov said in a statement released by his lawyer Paolina Rupchina. He defines the order as unlawful and claims that pressure from Georgi Kandev is behind the prosecutor's actions.
Yankov also claims that he denied Kandev 50% of his business and that he publicly exposed him. These are claims by Yankov that have not been confirmed by a court order that has entered into force or an official conclusion of an investigative body.
The accusation about the cars
According to the prosecutor's office, Yankov is accused of illegally embezzling five cars, six trucks and one trailer. According to the state prosecution, the vehicles were received under use and sale contracts from a company in Stara Zagora, after which payments were terminated, and the cars were not returned.
The prosecution indicates that the alleged actions were committed between October 3 and November 28, 2025. It also claims that Yankov repeatedly failed to appear after being summoned for procedural and investigative actions and for his involvement as a defendant. For this reason, the indictment was filed in absentia, and Yankov was declared a state-wide wanted person. On June 28, the Stara Zagora District Court authorized the execution of the European arrest warrant.
How the conflict with Georgi Kandev began
The relationship between the two became public in April, when Georgi Kandev was acting Secretary General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. At that time, Kandev stated that he had received warnings and that a person nicknamed Kartofa, together with other people, was giving false testimony against him at the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office. According to him, a former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was behind the pressure.
Kandev denies that he asked for or accepted a bribe, that he blackmailed Yankov or that he used his official position for personal gain. He claims that he only knew Yankov through visits to a car wash and that there was no official relationship between the two.
In July, Kandev filed a defamation lawsuit against Yankov at the Pernik District Court. The case was filed on July 30, but the court left the lawsuit without progress due to irregularities and gave a deadline for their removal. The court has not publicly announced all the specific allegations that Kandev disputes.
What's next
Yankov is already in custody in Greece, but there is currently no publicly announced date for his transfer to Bulgarian authorities. The Greek judicial authorities will now consider the execution of the European arrest warrant. In Bulgaria, the prosecutor's office has stated that if Yankov is identified and detained, it will request a court order for “detention in custody“.
Sources: Nova TV, bTV, Mediapool