site.btaVazrazhdane: Government Move Confirms "Theft" of Lukoil Assets

With Friday's proposal by the Council of Ministers that the Executive Director of the National Revenue Agency, Rumen Spetsov, be appointed as special commercial administrator at Lukoil Neftochim, it becomes clear that a theft of Russian oil company Lukoil’s assets in Bulgaria is underway, MP Yordan Todorov (Vazrazhdane) told journalists in the National Assembly.

The nomination of Spetsov as special commercial administrator for Lukoil in Bulgaria was announced by Economy and Industry Minister Petar Dilov after an extraordinary meeting of the Security Council under the Council of Ministers. Expectations are that Spetsov will be entered into the Commercial Register no later than Monday, so that he can take over the management a few days before the US sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft come into force.

According to Vazrazhdane, the Bulgarian state is not acting as a sovereign regulator but as an executor of decisions made by MP Delyan Peevski, leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning. "In practice, we will not have a person who is a special commercial administrator in the true sense, but rather a liquidator of Lukoil’s assets in Bulgaria, which will occur based on market valuations most likely carried out by firms linked to the economic circle around Peevski," Todorov said. This, he added, opens the door wide to arbitration cases being brought against Bulgaria, potentially forcing the country to pay billions for damages to Lukoil’s assets and for lost profits.

Spetsov has no experience whatsoever in managing such a company and does not even meet the minimum requirements for the role, but is clearly particularly convenient for Peevski, Todorov commented. According to him, Spetsov “has been linked to him on more than one occasion over the years”.