Interior Ministry Secretary General to be replaced in wake of Alexey Petrov's murder

The Interior Ministry Secretary General will be replaced in the wake of the the August 16 murder of businessman Alexey Petrov. This transpired after a meeting of the Prime Minister with representatives of the Interior Ministry and security services Friday.

“Part of the discussion today showed that there is an internal problem in the Interior Ministry," the Prime Minister said. "There are several sets of facts that show that there is a problem with the organization in the Interior Ministry and these problems are related to the responsibility of its Secretary General. In practice, the Interior Minister does not work with the Secretary General because he has no credibility and believes that there are problems in terms of organization that were happening before this team of the ministry took office,” Denkov said.

“I asked Minister Stoyanov not to tolerate this situation any longer and to prepare a report requesting the replacement of the Secretary General in the Ministry of Interior and that this report be submitted on Wednesday to the Council of Ministers, to be sent to the President’s Administration. The report will describe specific facts that require the change to be made as soon as possible,” the Prime Minister said, adding that Friday’s meeting has not discussed any potential replacements of the Secretary General, nor a reform in the Interior Ministry.

Various motives, including the possibility of revenge, are being investigated in the murder of Alexey Petrov, Prime Minister Denkov said after the meeting.

He added that there were several versions being worked on. Petrov did not feel under threat, he went unguarded to various places, according to Denkov. There are different possible explanations related to his positions in the SANS, his business interests, certain crimes that happened over the years, and revenge, the Prime Minister said, adding that Petrov had nothing to do with the formation of the government, with its governance programme and legislative changes.

"We have no reason to talk about a gangster war, or a complicated crime situation, this is what the analysis of the Ministry of Interior shows with the information and figures we have," said Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov after the meeting. 

According to him, the motives for the murder could be many and varied, and a large amount of information is being examined.

The calibre of the weapon used to kill Alexey Petrov was identified, director of the Sofia Police Directorate Lyubomir Nikolov said. 

The woman who was with Petrov and was wounded in the crime was questioned, he added.

Interior Ministry Deputy Secretary General Zhivko Kotsev said talks and follow-up interrogations would be held with Petrov's contacts, domestic and international, from the business and political elite, to establish the motives for the crime.

Speaking at a military tattoo, marking the 146th anniversary of the Shipka Epopee, in Gabrovo Friday, Vice President Iliana Iotova told journalists she is surprised that no proposal for replacing the Interior Ministry Secretary General has been made for so long after a regular cabinet was formed, since him and the government could not work as a team. Iotova added that the Presidency will not yet comment on the murder of businessman Alexey Petrov. The President will decide whether a National Security Advisory Council should be convened, she further said.