The suspected gunman in the killing of Iliyan Filipov has been detained

Bulgria's Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev was questioned in Parliament about the killing of businessman Iliyan Filipov in Plovdiv. Demerdzhiev said that investigators were pursuing all possible lines of inquiry, but were convinced that the person who physically carried out the killing had been detained.

Bulgarian businessman Iliyan Filipov shot dead in Plovdiv

The suspect is a 51-year-old man with a lengthy criminal record, including armed robberies of ATMs and jewellery shops, as well as a conviction for intentional homicide. His most recent offence was the theft of investment gold on an especially large scale in Plovdiv in June this year, reporter Maria Fileva reported.

“We have no doubt that we have detained the person who physically carried out this murder. Of course, we are not passing a sentence, but this is our internal conviction based on the work carried out and the substantial body of evidence collected,” Demerdzhiev said. According to him, investigators are also looking for other people involved in the serious crime, including the person who ordered the killing.

Asked why an image initially released from a security camera appeared to show a very thin man, while the detainee is considerably more heavily built, the interior minister said he would not allow speculation. During the hearing, he also denied claims circulating publicly that he had been the murdered man's lawyer.

Edited by Miglena Ivanova