The police officer who interrogated Kiril Petkov and searched Boyko Borisov's home does not remember key details

The lead investigating officer "Nikolay Valchev" stated in court that he remembers almost nothing about key decisions and details surrounding the detention of "Boyko Borisov", "Vladislav Goranov", and "Sevdelina Arnaudova" on March 17, 2022, and the subsequent actions of the Ministry of Interior.

In the case, "Kiril Petkov" is accused of exceeding his authority and giving personal instructions to police leaders to arrest the three. Valchev is the investigator who interrogated Petkov at the Council of Ministers at that time.

Petkov's interrogation and Valchev's claims

The police officer recounted that "Kiril Petkov" made a statement, which he recorded on a pre-prepared form without asking questions because he was not familiar with the facts. He claims he does not remember what Petkov mainly said, other than that it concerned "facts related to Mr. Boyko Borisov".

Valchev recalls that "Boyko Rashkov" showed him an "explanation from Mr. Bozhkov" – "Vasil Bozhkov" – about millions withdrawn from a bank and taken to "Vladislav Goranov" at the Ministry of Finance, a topic on which the prosecution later reached no result.

The search at Borisov's home

The investigator describes that he went to the home of "Boyko Borisov" for a search along with a colleague and two witnesses, where they were met by NSO officers who, according to him, had been notified in advance. He admitted that they were not told to look for specific items: "We had to look for, generally speaking, everything that is prohibited."

Nothing was seized from Borisov's home as physical evidence. Only weapons stored in a safe were checked, which turned out to be legally registered.

How the arrest happened – no clear answer

When asked how exactly Borisov was detained for 24 hours under the Ministry of Interior Act, Valchev replied that others had handled that: "He was escorted in the vehicle by colleagues from the operative unit." He did not see how Borisov was put into the car and said he "doubts" that handcuffs were placed on him.

Despite persistent questions from the judge, the prosecutor, and the defense, Valchev could not indicate who proposed and made the decision for the arrests and searches, nor whether there was a discussion about involving the European Public Prosecutor's Office or bypassing the Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office.

Repeated "I do not remember" and next steps

Prosecutor "Angel Kanev" requested in court that all three protocols from Valchev's previous interrogations be read, but it turned out that in them, too, he states dozens of times that he does not remember specific circumstances.

Kanev has already requested that "Boyko Borisov" and "Boyko Rashkov" be summoned as witnesses in the trial. The court has not yet ruled on this request and for now, continues with the interrogation of the already admitted witnesses.