“It is very likely that some of these people are not aware that they are committing a crime. Most likely, many of these people viewed this participation in the group as a way to earn some small money. We should not necessarily look for an ideological connection or a desire to serve one cause or another. I hope that in this case it is a matter of everyday commitment, a way to make money.“
This is what he said in “120 minutes“ on bTV, the general of the reserve and former head of intelligence Dimo Gyaurov about the spy network with the participation of Bulgarians in Great Britain.
According to him, such groups are created ad hoc according to the set goal and the capabilities of the specific people.
“I do not rule out that here, in fact, one specific person was involved, who is the leader of the group, who, based on his contacts and connections, attracted the others. It is not necessary to hire highly qualified people for unqualified work. Let us realize that they did not perform any ingenious actions, but technical assistance in tracking, eavesdropping and establishing information related to the persons who were interesting to the Kremlin and the Russian services“, pointed out Dimo Gyaurov.
According to the former head of intelligence, there is a need for publicity in Bulgaria regarding the spy scandal. It may turn out that these people did not commit a crime from the point of view of our criminal code, he said.
„The Prosecutor's Office, the National Security Agency, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs must provide information without hindering the investigation. There is no need to keep some deep secret. Without disseminating specific information about the investigation, our investigative bodies must say „Yes, based on information provided by the British and Austrian services, we are conducting an investigation on such and such a text against such and such a person“. It is not true what some claim that because it happened abroad, our services have no commitment – nothing like that. From the point of view of our law, a crime is only what is done on the territory of Bulgaria, and which is committed against a Bulgarian citizen or by a Bulgarian citizen“, he added.
According to him, there has been an increase in propaganda, the spread of fake news and attempts at information sabotage in our country.
“In recent months, we have been hearing serious warnings from Western European services, from the heads of these services, about the danger of more severe actions related to classic sabotage – the danger of sabotage actions in the transport system, large enterprises, undermining industry or the economy. This is something that should worry us and I hope that it is in the focus of our services“, said Gyaurov.
As far as it remains a question of propaganda related to undermining the foundations of the state, the National Security Service must definitely show interest. People can be identified, especially if they are in Bulgaria, he added.