Petkov and Vasilev formally charged as witnesses describe Borisov's 2022 arrest

A Sofia court case tied to Bulgaria's recent political history is moving quickly. Former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and former Finance Minister Asen Vasilev have been formally charged in connection with the March 2022 arrest of GERB leader Boyko Borisov. New witness testimony offers a disputed account of what happened inside the Council of Ministers that night. Bulgaria's Constitutional Court later ruled the 2022 arrest unlawful, making the question of who ordered it one of the country's most contested legal battles.

What witnesses say happened

According to Standart, the head of the National Protection Service (NSO), General Emil Tonev, testified before Sofia City Court that he was summoned to the Council of Ministers on the evening of 17 March 2022, where the planned arrest of Borisov at his home in Bankya was being discussed. Tonev said those present talked about what investigators should find during the search, including bags of cash. He also said that then-DANS chief Plamen Tonchev insisted that Borisov's armed NSO guards be warned before police moved in, to avoid a dangerous standoff between the two state services.

A previous witness, the former head of the Interior Ministry press centre, testified that Petkov and Vasilev pushed for Borisov to be led away in handcuffs, while then-Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov reportedly resisted, saying there was no legal basis for it, Standart reports. The same witness said discussions about detaining Borisov, including claims about money hidden in Bankya and monasteries, had been taking place in the Prime Minister's office for about a month before the operation.

Former Interior Ministry Secretary-General Petar Todorov, now a Member of Parliament for Progresvina Bulgaria, testified that he was not informed about the arrest in advance and received no satisfactory explanation from his superiors as to why he had been kept in the dark, according to Dariknews.

Who is next in the witness chair

Sofia City Court approved the prosecution's request to call Vasilev, Rashkov, Tonchev and former DANS deputy chief Petar Petrov as witnesses, ruling they must appear because other witnesses placed them at the meeting in Petkov's office where the arrest was planned. Vasilev and Rashkov are due to testify at the next hearing, scheduled for 7 December, Dariknews reports. The supervising prosecutor has also indicated he intends to seek testimony from Borisov himself, and possibly from businessman Vasil Bozhkov, who has been mentioned by multiple witnesses.

Petkov denies all charges. He is accused of abuse of office and overstepping his authority as Prime Minister in ordering police actions that courts later declared unlawful. The arrests of Borisov, former Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov and Sevdelina Arnaudova were made without prior prosecution authorization.

In a separate but related strand, Standart reports that the Burgas Court of Appeal is hearing challenges from two detained DPS-linked mayors, while DPS lawmaker Kalin Stoyanov is raising questions about prison administration letters sent to local councils hours before judges ruled to keep the mayors in custody, suggesting someone knew the outcome in advance.