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© Anelia Nikolova
The prosecution is aware of the signal from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), as well as the conclusions that Bulgaria must return 6 million euros of European funding for violations in a public procurement for the supply of cars to the Ministry of Interior. The signal is attached to another case in which two people are charged, announced the Prosecutor’s Office, but who is charged is not announced. The prosecution does not even indicate his initials, as is the practice in ongoing investigations and inspections.
Yesterday, the media named presidential adviser Plamen Uzunov, who was serving as acting interior minister in spring 2017, as responsible, and the presidency sent a rebuttal, noting that the agreement was signed a year later. According to OLAF’s investigation, it is clear from OLAF’s signal that the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior has violated the terms of its grant agreement with the European Commission by using EU funds to purchase SUVs from older stocks instead. of new police cars. The European Office said it had recommended that almost 6 million euros be reimbursed to the EU budget, in addition to assessing the preconditions for opening criminal proceedings against ministry officials.
On January 6, the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor’s Office sent the materials received from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to the Special Prosecutor’s Office.
The data provided refers to an investigation into possible fraud and violations of the law in the implementation of an agreement to award a grant from the Internal Security Fund for the purchase of vehicles for the needs of the Ministry of the Interior, according to the state prosecutor’s office.
The Bulgarian Public Prosecutor’s Office was recommended to initiate legal proceedings against officials of the Ministry of the Interior for abuse of power and favoring a third party. According to Article 127, paragraph 1, of the PPC, reports received from OLAF are one of the main types of written evidence.
Following analysis and assessment by decree of the supervisory prosecutor of the special prosecutor’s office, the materials received from OLAF were combined with the materials in a case related to the investigation of possible “influence peddling”. However, the prosecution said that the investigation in question had been started before the information from the European service.
In the pre-trial process, two persons are charged under article 321, paragraph 6 of the Penal Code (for an organized criminal group) and article 282, paragraph 2 of the Penal Code (official crime). In addition to the acts for which both are charged, influence peddling is also investigated, as well as corruption and official crimes. This is what determines the unification of the materials received from OLAF in the case of “influence peddling”, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
They also ensure that investigative actions are being carried out in order to ensure the objectivity, completeness and exhaustiveness of the facts and circumstances to be proved, as well as in view of the legal requirement that the accusation not be based solely on the reports of OLAF investigation.
Against whom the process is being carried out and who are the accused, the prosecution did not announce, so it did not confirm or deny that one of them is the presidential adviser Plamen Uzunov. OLAF also does not indicate the dates of the announcement of the contract in question, nor the date of conclusion of the contract, nor the specific names of the persons. However, some Bulgarian media (including 24 Chasa, BNT) linked the violations to the name of Presidential Secretary Plamen Uzunov, who was investigated last summer by the prosecution for trading influence in another case. Uzunov was Acting Minister of the Interior from January 27 to May 4, 2017. It was at this time that the order was announced, on March 2. The contractor was also selected by the interim government on April 20, 2017.
After refuting the information, the president’s press secretary sent to the media the text of the contract signed by the Ministry of the Interior a year later, on February 18, 2018 (when Valentin Radev is minister of the GERB), as well as a attached to it since February 27, 2018
Mediapool recalls that the order for the cars was announced on March 2, 2017, during Ognyan Gerdjikov’s office. The contractor was also chosen by the interim government on April 20, 2017. Gerdjikov’s cabinet term is May 4, 2017. However, the contract with the contractor selected by the interim cabinet was concluded during the third government of the GERB due to the appeal procedure. This happens at the end of February 2018. Then the Minister of the Interior was Valentin Radev.
According to the publication, the public procurement was announced on March 2, 2017 and was carried out under an expedited procedure due to migratory pressure at the Bulgarian borders, the public procurement announcement states. Offers are submitted by 11 candidates. Until the opening of the price offers, four were allowed and the other 7 were eliminated for various reasons.
Entrepreneur Grisha Ganchev’s “Bulgarian Automotive Industry” company EAD with a price of about BGN 14 million with VAT for 290 SUVs has been selected as executor of the order. The off-road vehicles are of the Great Wall brand, as the price of a jeep is 44,158 BGN with VAT and there is a support guarantee of 5 years or 100,000 km for 3,840 BGN.
