Bulgaria's former PM Borissov detained, interior ministry says

Bulgaria's former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov sits in a car in front of his house, in Sofia, Bulgaria, March 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dimitar Kyosemarliev

Bulgaria's former Prime Minister and leader of opposition centre-right GERB party, Boyko Borissov, has been detained late on Thursday as part of a police operation linked with the probes of the EU prosecutor's office, the interior ministry said.

Former Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov, the former chair of the parliamentary budgetary commission Menda Stoyanova as well as Borissov's media adviser Sevdalina Arnaudova were also detained, the ministry said in a statement.

"A large-scale operation is underway in connection with 120 cases of the European Prosecutor's Office in Bulgaria. Searches and seizures are carried out at many addresses. Boyko Borisov, Vladislav Goranov, Menda Stoyanova and Sevdalina Arnaudova are currently detained," the ministry said.

FILE PHOTO: Former Bulgarian Prime Minister and leader of centre-right GERB party Boyko Borissov speaks to the media after casting his vote at a polling station , during parliamentary and presidential elections, in Sofia, Bulgaria, November 14, 2021. REUTERS/Spasiyana Sergieva

(Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova)