FORMER Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borissov was detained on Thursday night during police operations initiated after investigations by the European Union prosecutor’s office.

Other members of his opposition centre-right GERB party were also taken into custody, including ex-finance minister Vladislav Goranov, former head of the parliamentary budget commission Menda Stoyanova and Mr Borissov‘s former erstwhile adviser Sevdalir Arnaudova.

“Nobody is above the law,” current Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said after the arrests.

Bulgaria’s interior ministry confirmed that Mr Borissov had been detained but gave no further details regarding the accusations against him.

Police did not comment further on the arrests, however local press said the cases involved “misuse of EU aid.”

Mr Borrisov’s lawyer Menko Menkov said the former PM was not aware of the reasons for the arrest.

“Nobody knows what kind of police officers they are. They have no explanation, but come and start an urgent search,” he said.

The police operation came after a two-day visit to the Bulgarian capital Sofia by European chief prosecutor Laura Koevesi.

“European prosecutors have opened 120 investigations of fraud in Bulgaria involving EU money related to public tenders, agricultural subsidies, construction, and coronavirus recovery funds,” she said at the end on her visit on Thursday.

“Now is the time for the relevant Bulgarian authorities to team up with us, including on particularly sensitive cases,” she added.

Mr Borisov served three terms as prime minister but resigned last year after a newly formed party won the general election pledging to stamp out widespread corruption.

He denies any wrongdoing and until now no charges have been made against him.

Bulgaria has faced scrutiny due to problems including a failure to adhere to the law, lack of press freedom and allegations of corruption.