The regional General-Prosecutor's Office in the central Bulgarian town of Sliven has started a pre-trial investigation against Sliven mayor and football legend Yordan Lechkov, Bulgaria BTA news agency said on April 8 2010.

The investigation is about a crime allegedly committed by Lechkov between August 2008 and February 2010 when, in his capacity as mayor, he had "failed to provide enough care for the property for which he was responsible, causing considerable damage to the municipality," the BTA quoted the prosecutor's statement as saying.

The statement did not say what exactly Lechkov did, or had failed to do. If proven guilty, however, Lechkov could face up to five years' imprisonment.

The news about the pre-trial investigation against Lechkov is the most recent of many controversies surrounding his actions as mayor of Sliven. The popular football star, whose goal sent Bulgaria into the semifinal of the 1994 World Cup in the US, entered Bulgarian politics in 2003 after he won the mayoral elections in Sliven.

In 2007, he won a second term in office with the support of the current ruling party of Prime Minister Boiko Borissov. Lechkov is also deputy head of the Bulgarian Football Union.

Over the past seven years critics have often accused Lechkov of ruthless and underhand rule in Sliven.

In November 2009, he became embroiled in a conflict with Environment Minister Nora Karadjov and demanded her resignation in a quarrel about European Union funding for Sliven's water and sewerage network rehabilitation project.

At the end, Lechkov got what he wanted - 20 per cent of the funds provided for the project to be paid to Sliven city hall in advance so that it could cover its loans on the project.

In March 2010, Lechkov made the news when, for a couple of hours, the Interior Ministry declared Lechkov to be a wanted man for allegedly ignoring a Sofia police officer's signal to pull over for a speeding violation and allegedly making an obscene gesture to the policeman. Lechkov denied the charges.

After first failing to appear regarding the accusations, Lechkov was questioned by police on March 26 2010.