site.btaNational Security Agency Acting Chief Denies Agency Presence in NGO Linked to High-Profile Multiple Deaths Case

The acting Chair of the State Agency for National Security (SANS), Denyo Denev, on Thursday denied that SANS officers had been present at the Petrohan Lodge or embedded in the NGO linked to the multiple deaths at the lodge and a nearby Okolchitsa locality.

"Categorically no. I have said before that there were no employees of the State Agency for National Security on site," Denev told reporters when asked whether SANS agents had been involved with the National Protected Areas Control Agency (NPACA), the organization connected to the case.

Earlier on Thursday, MPs of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) demanded Denev’s immediate resignation, accusing him of showing "clear disrespect" for Parliament during a hearing on Wednesday by failing to answer whether individuals in the NGO had cooperated with or worked for SANS.

Denev said that following tipoffs received years ago over alleged violations related to the association, SANS had carried out an inspection and forwarded the case file to the prosecution service. "SANS has done its job. A check was conducted, data indicating crimes had been committed, and we sent them to the prosecution service," he said.

He added that he was not aware that MPs had called for his resignation.

The CC-DB representatives claimed that information from various sources pointed to at least two individuals linked to the group who had interacted with SANS. Party leader Assen Vassilev went further, alleging that the agency may be "covering up a crime" and referring to Interior Ministry information that the group had been under surveillance for more than a year.

Between February 2 and February 8, six bodies with gunshot wounds - five men and a 15-year-old boy - were found near the Petrohan Lodge and Okolchitsa Peak in northwestern Bulgaria. The victims were linked to an NGO, National Agency for Control of Protected Areas. Investigators are examining whether the deaths were homicides followed by suicide or suicides alone.

Opposition MPs have called for the declassification of all documents related to the case.