Bulgaria Raises New Charges against Busted Secret Agent

Aleksei Petrov, one of the most striking and mysterious figures from Bulgaria's twenty-year transition, walked into the court-room on crutches due to what he called a trauma from the time of the assassination attempt against him in 2002. Photo by BGNES

Former undercover agent Aleksei Petrov, who was nabbed within an operation, dubbed the Octopus, faces three new charges.

This emerged on Wednesday after Sofia City Court convened to rule on the request of the defendant to be released on bail.

Petrov, whose nickname is the Tractor, is accused of a wide range of crimes, including fraud, tax evasion, prostitution enticement, blackmailing and links to the gang ”The Impudent”, which was arrested in December 2009.

The new charges launched against him are for state secret leak, racketeering and coercion.

“My arrest was scandalous,” Petrov told journalists before the court hearing. “They said I was part of the Octopus gang, but fifty days after my arrest there is not a word about that in the documents.”

Petrov walked into the court-room on crutches due to what he called a trauma from the time of the assassination attempt against him in 2002. The shooting occurred in front of Spartak complex in the capital Sofia.

Bulgaria's current Prime Minister Boyko Borisov was the then Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry. The shooters have not be tracked down yet.

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