Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry believes that former Bulgarian chief of the State Agency for National Security (SANS) Petko Sertov is alive and well in Greece. Mr. Sertov had mysteriously gone missing from his home in Sofia on December 5.

He is believed to have checked into the Nana hotel near Larissis Railway Station in Athens on December 20 and appeared to have been in good spirits during his stay. He appeared undisturbed and spoke Greek and English. The Greek police, however, were unable to establish contact with him as he had already left the small hotel.

Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Svetlozar Lazarov said on Tuesday that the Bulgarian and Greek authorities are working closely together. He said that Mr. Sertov had not committed a crime but had caused his family concern after he drew cash from a bank but left both cell phones at home before disappearing. The police were able to pinpoint that he was headed towards Greece from CCTV footage.

Mr. Lazarov said that Mr. Sertov would not be detained once his identity is established. Mr. Lazarov did not dismiss the possibility that Mr. Sertov could be unaware that the police in Bulgaria and Greece may be searching for him. He hopes that Mr. Sertov will identify himself at any police station in the EU so that the search for him can end and so that the police can stop digging into his personal life.

Mr. Sertov is the first SANS chief who served in the post from January 1, 2008, to the summer of 2009. He was also head of Bulgaria’s Center for Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption and Organized Crime with the Council of Ministers until March 2013.