Balgarianovinite.com Threats made against acting Interior Ministry Secretary General Georgi Kandev are likely the result of his good work over the past two months, which led to successful operations in many parts of the country to prevent or uncover vote buying, caretaker Interior Minister Emil Dechev told Bulgarian National Television on Tuesday.
According to him, this shows that there are backstage forces and individuals who are not formally in charge of the State but control those who are, and have enormous self-confidence.
Asked about the exact nature of the threat against Kandev, Dechev explained that he could potentially face pre-trial proceedings for extortion or bribery. “These people have no compromising material, but they can fabricate it,” he said, noting that such information had come from several different sources. “When there is nothing to latch onto, something has to be invented,” he added. “If part of society begins to doubt a person’s authority, then the effort has had an effect,” Dechev said.
According to Dechev, in the past “Kartofa” [The Potato – the person alleged to have given false testimony against Kandev at the Sofia City Prosecution Office together with associates] has had convictions and has served prison sentences. His company has gained a monopoly over roadside assistance on motorways in Bulgaria, Dechev said, adding that this is worth millions.
“There are certainly other ‘potatoes’, and they may be at a higher level,” the Minister added. The situation shows that there are powerful and influential individuals and organisations in Bulgaria that consider themselves greater than the State itself, he said.
There is no obstacle for a new Interior Minister to retain the current acting Secretary General, Dechev also said. According to him, the position is not political, and both in theory and by law there is no impediment for Kandev to remain in office, even to be appointed permanently.
“The activities of former head of the Sofia Investigation Service and investigator at the National Investigation Service – Petyo ‘The Euro’ Petrov – had a very strong influence not only in the judiciary, but also in appointments within the Interior Ministry,” Dechev said. “It turned out that his archive contained the CV of a former director of an Interior Ministry institute. The question is how and why it ended up there, why Petrov was interested in this person, and whether he managed to influence his appointment,” Dechev added. According to him, it is important to establish whether, if Petrov influenced that person’s career, the latter later fulfilled any of Petrov’s requests.
According to Dechev, there is a criminal case in the judicial phase related to the matter. “I do not expect much from the investigation, because I believe there is a dependency between Petyo ‘The Euro’ and acting Sofia City Prosecutor Emilia Rusinova,” he said.
Asked how people like Petyo Petrov manage to evade the Interior Ministry, Dechev said there is evidently a leak of information that allows such individuals to escape in time. “These people have a close circle of friends who actively assist them,” he added. “They often go abroad. I have heard that Petrov is in Sofia, but we have no evidence,” he said.
Commenting on the replacement of the acting Prosecutor General, Dechev said it is good that it happened, but not the way it happened. “It turns out that a politician had to intervene for one of the senior representatives of a supposedly independent judiciary to step down. That does not reflect well on the judicial system,” he said. “The departure of Borislav Sarafov is not a reform, nor do I consider it a major change, because his deputy, appointed by him, will serve in an acting capacity in his place. A new Supreme Judicial Council should be elected as soon as possible,” Minister Dechev added. Interior Minister Comments on Threats against Secretary General Kandev, Petyo Petrov’s Influence in Ministry, Judiciary 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-04-28 08:20:46 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law