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No one is above the law, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov wrote on his Facebook page on the day his predecessors were handcuffed for abusing EU funds. Boyko Borisov, Bulgaria’s former prime minister, was arrested Thursday evening during a police operation linked to an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The Bulgarian daily Dnevnik says former Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov, former parliamentary budget committee chairwoman Menda Stoyanova and Borisov’s media adviser Sevdalina Arnaudova have also been arrested.
In a move that could turn into a major moment of accountability in Bulgaria, a major operation was organized in connection with 120 possible fraud cases being investigated by the European Prosecutor’s Office. The prosecutor herself, Laura Codruța Kövesi, visited Bulgaria in recent days, presenting the possibility of dealing with major abuses of European bloc funds in sectors such as agriculture, construction and public affairs – problems that have plagued Bulgaria for years.
Borisov’s lawyer, Menko Menkov, told reporters that no charges had been filed against the former prime minister. He was taken into custody with the possibility of detention for 24 hours. Menkov later said that Borisov’s case was about extortion and not about abusing EU funds. His GERB party is represented in the EU Parliament in the group of European popular parties.
Borisov, who dominated Bulgaria’s politics for more than a decade, was forced out of power in April last year amid a crisis that has gripped the country commonly described as the most corrupt in the European Union.
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