Bulgarian ex-general accused of spying for Russia

The Bulgarian prosecutor’s office has uncovered another Russian spy scandal involving diplomats from the Russian embassy in Sofia and a former Bulgarian general.

The general, Valentin Tsankov, is accused of spying for Russia since 2016, has been charged and is currently in custody.

In the last two years, a total of nine Russian diplomats have been expelled from Sofia.

In the latest scandal, the Bulgarian authorities declared two Russian diplomats persona non grata. Russian Ambassador to Sofia, Eleonora Mitrofanov, refused to appear at the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry because of the investigation.

Gen. Tsankov was director of a directorate in the defence ministry and military attaché in London from  2003 to 2007 and in Washington from 2007 to 2011. He was also an adviser to NATO and Angel Naydenov (BSP), a former defence minister.

His diplomatic career came to an end after it was revealed that he had worked for the communist secret services. He was then recalled from the embassy in Washington.

He is now an activist in the non-governmental Association of Land Forces and is known for his pro-Russian positions. The Chairman of the internal committee in parliament, Atanas Atanasov, commented that this case has been going on for years.

Atanasov explained that Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev is trying to boost the Specialised Prosecutor’s Office image because the institution will probably be closed. On the same day, Justice Minister Nadezhda Yordanova submitted a request to the Supreme Judicial Council for Geshev’s dismissal.

A year ago, prosecutors arrested six Bulgarians, including two former senior military officials, on Russian espionage charges.

The criminal case is secret, but according to the leaked information, the spy group exported information about the modification of the American fighter F 16 block 70, which Bulgaria ordered from the US.