Boyko Borissov, Bulgaria’s former prime minister and head of the major opposition GERB party, was detained late on Thursday as part of a police operation tied to EU Public Prosecutor’s Office probes, the interior ministry reported.
Borissov’s decade-long leadership came to an end in April after an election that revealed widespread public dissatisfaction with high-level corruption in the European Union’s poorest member state.
In December, a new centrist coalition administration assumed power, promising zero tolerance for corruption.
The operation was sparked by probes by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bulgaria, according to the interior ministry. Three other members of Borissov’s centre-right GERB party, including former Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov, were also detained.
The EPPO, which is overseen by Laura Kovesi, Romania’s former anti-corruption senior prosecutor, concentrates on significant fraud involving EU monies.
Kovesi, who returned from a two-day visit to Bulgaria earlier this week, said that her agency has received a record amount of Bulgarian complaints and has initiated 120 investigations.
GERB MPs and supporters gathered outside Borissov’s home on the outskirts of Sofia, screaming for the new government’s resignation and accusing it and the police of political repression.
‘For the time being, Borissov has not been charged. A search warrant was issued for his residence. He was transferred to the national police headquarters, where he will most certainly be held for 24 hours,’ Menko Menkov, his lawyer, informed reporters.
Borissov’s supporters afterwards marched to the national police office and announced a Friday protest in front of the government.
Borissov, 62, was a former bodyguard of late communist dictator Todor Zhivkov and led the Balkan country with short interruptions from 2009 to last April, his popularity enhanced by large public investment on infrastructure projects.
Protesters accused Borissovof of cooperating with the country’s chief prosecutor for the benefit of local oligarchs and businesses linked to his party during large anti-graft demonstrations in 2020.
Several Bulgarian blogs released photos purported to depict Borissov’s claimed fortune two years ago, including shots of a nightstand piled high with gold bars and 500-euro bills.
Borissov has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the images were staged by his political opponents in order to disgrace him.
Bulgaria has yet to imprison a senior official on graft charges, despite being regarded as the EU’s most corrupt member state by Transparency International.
Prime Minister Kiril Petkov wrote on his Facebook page, ‘No one is above the law.’
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