Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior: There are signals against the Presidency

Ministry of Interior’s Secretary General, Zhivko Kotsev, confirmed on January 30 that the Ministry of Interior had received signals against the presidency. The report will be ready today, but its data will be made public by the political leadership. Yesterday, Movement for Rights and Freedoms MP, Delyan Peevski, asked why there was no information on cases of high public interest.

Zhivko Kotsev said that various departments of the Ministry of Interior had received signals regarding the presidency.

"Preliminary reports confirm that such signals have been received. I am waiting for a final report to be presented to me, to become clear how many those signals were, to which structures they have been submitted, what their nature is, and only then we can give full information about what cases, what they are about, where they have been received, which office has handled them and progress on them. In any case, the signals have been processed, checks have been carried out and I assume that they have been reported to the Prosecutor's office, this is my assumption," the MoI Secretary General said.

He also said that a working group has been set up in the Ministry of Interior to ensure the implementation of measures related to Schengen and the protection of the external borders of the European Union.

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In a press release on Monday, January 29, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) MP, Delyan Peevski, said that he has referred to the Prosecutor General, the Secretary General of the Interior Ministry and the heads of the State Agency for National Security and the anti-corruption commission signals related to corruption in the presidential institution.

He wants to know why authorities do not disclose data on investigations and cases of high public interest related to the presidential administration, despite media reports and publicly disclosed alerts.

According to Peevski, the public should not remain suspicious of an "institutional umbrella" or a cover-up of violations related to abuse of power or corrupt practices, because it is the only way for the State to prove its Euro-Atlantic values and principles.

He urged the competent authorities to inform about the signals, data and progress of cases from the past three years, which have been repeatedly written and spoken about in media. The scandalous revelations for which Peevski described the presidency as a "dark institution full of a lot of cash" became known as Cashgate.

President Rumen Radev described Delyan Peevski's allegations of an institutional umbrella in the presidency and concealment of violations related to abuse of power or corrupt practices as media hysteria and said it reveals fear of a new party.

President Radev commented on Peevski’s attacks against him and called these “a staged media craze“ and referred to the MRF MP as „Mr Magnitsky“.

"I will not comment on Mr Magnitsky. Balzac long ago stated that “one of the most detestable habits of Lilliputian minds is to find their own littleness in others”.. You can see that the taming of the “We Continue the Change- Democratic Bulgaria” leaders might give hope to some that they can approach the presidency in the same way, but that's not going to happen," Radev said.

According to the head of state, the situation is such that a new alternative is inevitable. If he gives his confidence to a new political party, however, he will announce it himself, he specified.

"All this orchestrated media hysteria reveals fear of a new party. This chorus of fear has united not only the parties in the assemblage 9referring to the government), but also small parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties who together feel threatened by the erosion of trust. It is naive to think that by smearing individuals you will change people's minds, and they are disgusted.

The situation is such that the emergence of an alternative is inevitable. Bulgarians are waiting for a real political alternative to oppose the mutual laundering and indulgence of corruption scandals. At the moment they are using a well-known technique - when after mutual laundering you cannot get rid of the heavy legacy, to create a false one," the Head of State said.

Radev called on the competent authorities to bring to light all the information about whistleblowers and pending cases, if any.

"If someone has real evidence and facts, he is obliged to provide them to the competent authorities, but also to be responsible for the credibility of these signals. I urge the concerned competent authorities to bring out all information about whistleblowers and pending cases, if any.

"When we talk about corruption, I call on these authorities to bring out all the information, files and cases about BTC, Bulgartabac, Corpbank, the BDB, dams, highways, customs, the National Railway Infrastructure Company, about Dunarit-Emko and the poisoning of Gerbev, about fronts - owners of properties and hotels in Bulgaria and abroad and offshore companies. Many questions remain unanswered, the public expects answeres, “ Radev further said.

Speaking at the briefing later on January 29, Peevski said that "Mr. Cash is acting like the ultimate institution in the country. His dictatorship is over and will never happen again", (referring to President Radev and his past caretaker governments).

Commenting on Radev's remarks about the need for a new political alternative, Peevski said: "Radev said he will create a party. I will be waiting for him. The gauntlet has been thrown. I accept it. We want a battle on the political stage. He can't be just sitting in his comfortable presidential chair, abuse the (presidential) institution and hide behind his full immunity".