Prime Minister Kiril Petkov interviewed as a witness in alleged extortion case

At 10.00 in the morning on April 4, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov appeared at the Prosecutor's Office to testify in a case of extortion. He is a witness for a second questioning as part of an investigation into allegations by gambling businessman Vassil Bozhkov that he had been the victim of extortion by the former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and former Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov.

Bozhkov is currently in Dubai and facing numerous charges in Bulgaria.

"I am calm and willing to help the investigation," PM Petkov said on entering.

He promised to comment after the questioning.

Petkov will be questioned for a second time after the Prosecutor's Office launched pre-trial proceedings in the case. Former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, former Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov and Sevdelina Arnaudova were also questioned in the case. Borisov, Goranov and Arnaudova were detained on March 17 for 24 hours in connection with the investigation.

The first action in the investigation was the questioning of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov as a witness. On March 18, the three were released without charge. The Prosecutor’s office said that the actions of the Ministry of Interior in the investigation were flawed because they should have been carried out by an investigator and therefore some of them will be repeated.

images by Dessilava Kulelieva, BNT