Bulgarian prosecutors on Tuesday said they have gathered "sufficient evidence" that former Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov has been involved in illegal wiretapping.

Sofia City Prosecution Office said in a press release that Tsvetanov, in his capacity as Minister of the Interior, knowingly allowed his subordinates to carry out illegal wiretapping.

However, currently criminal prosecution against Tsvetanov could not start because he is a candidate deputy and enjoys immunity, the press release said.

Tsvetanov, who was an Interior Minister from 2009 to 2013, is head of the election headquarters of GERB party for the parliamentary elections on May 12.

If found guilty, Tsvetanov may spend up to eight years behind bars.

At the end of March, Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov ordered the investigation after Sergey Stanishev, leader of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, said that the Interior Ministry has been engaged in illegal wiretapping under the personal direction and guidance of Tsvetanov.

According to the information, provided by Stanishev, from September 2009 to March 2013, a group in the ministry has illegally tapped politicians, including former and current presidents Georgi Parvanov and Rosen Plevneliev, businessmen, judges and public figures.

The tapping records were given only to Tsvetanov and were not officially registered, Stanishev added.

If this information proves correct, it would mean a monstrous, shaking scandal, a "Bulgarian Watergate," Stanishev said in March. Endi

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