The "Petrohan" Case: Does Ivaylo Kalushev's Sphere of Influence Extend to Politics?

The State Agency for National Security (SANS) has shifted the blame to the Prosecutor’s office over the tragedy at Petrohan and Okolchitsa. According to counter-intelligence chief Plamen Tonchev, information about alleged criminal activity surrounding Ivaylo Kalushev had been available at least a year earlier. Against this backdrop, psychologist Rosen Yordanov and co-chair of 'Yes, Bulgaria' Ivaylo Mirchev have engaged in a war of words over whether Kalushev's circle of influence extended into politics.

Regarding the “Petrohan” case and financial transactions linked to the non-governmental organisation managing the hut, the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office said that the investigation had established information concerning the acquisition of motor vehicles, while the source of the funds used to purchase them was still being clarified. Investigators had also identified bank accounts belonging to individuals linked to the case in Bulgaria, as well as a foreign account in a US jurisdiction, and a request for assistance had been sent to the competent US authorities through international legal cooperation mechanisms.

• The Prosecutor’s Office is investigating financial transactions related to the “Petrohan” mountain hut

SANS provided information concerning Petrohan in 2025.

Plamen Tonchev, chairman of SANS: “Check the case opened by the Prosecutor's Office in January 2025. According to information from SANS, it contains absolutely all the points and details that have been included in the charges today. If if someone had reacted in time back then, these people could still have been alive.”

- Did you submit reports to the Prosecutor's Office concerning possible paedophilia?

- Absolutely; that is one of the allegations we had included in our document.”

Speaking on BNT's “The Day Begins”, psychologist Rosen Yordanov said that the expert assessments still awaited did not depend entirely on the Prosecutor’s office.

Rosen Yordanov, psychologist: “There are expert assessments that depend on the international cooperation. They have been sent to be decoded because there is a huge volume of encrypted information – terabytes.”

- The phones?

– The phones, yes, because they communicated via Signal and there was an enormous amount of communication.”

According to Yordanov, Kalushev's circle of influence extended into politics.

Rosen Yordanov, psychologist: “In Mexico, there’s a witness who says there was a list of people who were going to form the ‘Yes, Bulgaria’ party, and certain names were highlighted on it, and Kalushev showed this list. This is because his friend, Asen Asenov, wanted him to use his extrasensory abilities to assess the qualities of the candidates.”

Ivaylo Mirchev was categorical: it is not true that the composition of the Initiative Committee or the candidate lists of “Yes, Bulgaria” were approved or voted on by people outside the party, including Kalushev.

Ivaylo Mirchev, co-chair of “Yes, Bulgaria”: Let me tell you who selects the people for Yes, Bulgaria's Initiative Committee – three people: Hristo Ivanov, Antoaneta Tsoneva and myself. None of us relied on Mr Kalushev. None of us knew him. And now I will tell you who is behind this entire attack: one is the "Bankya Lama", the other is Delyan Peevski, and this is according to Boyko Borissov.”

Photos: BTA, BNT, BGNES

According to Mirchev, this case has been used in an unprecedented way as part of an attack aimed at destroying “Yes, Bulgaria.”

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