Delyan Peevski, leader of the DPS party, called interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev a "liar" after the minister's hearing in parliament today. Peevski spoke about the hearing in the corridors of parliament.
MPs questioned Demerdzhiev over reports of corrupt practices in public contracts for guardrails, and of money from those contracts being steered to pay for Peevski's flights.
The minister said the organised crime unit GDBOP had asked the company Hyperion Aviation for documents. He said they show no payments made to Peevski personally for flights between 1 January 2023 and 15 June 2026.
Demerdzhiev said the invoices were issued and paid by Spectrum Air EAD, which also bought the plane used for Peevski's flights. The firm made 36 bank transfers totalling €5,083,800. The minister added that the real owners of Spectrum Air EAD are the same people.
Peevski said the hearing had served its purpose, and that the minister had failed completely and had shown nothing. "We learned that there are invoices between two companies that have nothing to do with me in any way," the DPS leader said.
He said the 36 invoices for 36 flights had not been shown, and added that he was glad the matter was over today.
Peevski also said Demerdzhiev is a lawyer for the Pimka group and that all they had seen from him was lies. "A total fiasco for Demerdzhiev, a total fiasco over the fact that he is not a lawyer for the Pimka group - lies, lies, lies," he said.