site.btaFormer Varna Mayor, Governor Indicted by EPPO in EUR 3.4 Mln Port Fraud Case

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said in a press release on Monday that its office in Sofia had filed an indictment against a former mayor and a former regional governor of Varna (on the Black Sea), as well as two public officials of the Executive Agency Maritime Administration, for fraud relating to the reconstruction of a fishing port that did not exist. Later in the day, the Sofia City Court has initiated a case, acting on the indictment.

"The four are accused of forging official documents and providing false information in order to unlawfully obtain EUR 3.4 million in EU and national funds for a project aimed at improving the infrastructure of a purported fishing port on the outskirts of Varna, submitted by the Municipality of the city (the beneficiary). According to the investigation, however, no such port existed at the time the funding application was submitted," the EPPO specified.

"Based on the evidence, the plots of land included in the application as an existing port were in fact registered in the cadastral plan of Varna as rocks, sand and other type of buildings. The investigation showed that the beneficiary assembled several pontoons as floating piers, with the sole purpose of registering the site as an existing harbour. With the help of public officials from the Executive Agency Maritime Administration, the plots ended up being registered as a port," the press release reads. 

"The estimated damage to the EU budget is approximately EUR 2.8 million (BGN 5,603,035.97), with an additional estimated damage to the national budget of EUR 675,475 (BGN 1,321,115.78)," the EPPO said, adding that "if found guilty, the former mayor and ex-governor face between two to eight years’ imprisonment. The other defendants face up to five years’ imprisonment. The court may also prohibit the defendants from holding certain state or public offices."

The case was first reported to the EPPO by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), after suspicions of possible serious irregularities and fraud and OLAF also conducted a complementary investigation under EPPO's supervision. The case was further investigated by the General Directorate National Police of Sofia.

At a news conference on September 1, 2023, Ivan Portnih, then still a sitting mayor of Varna, said that he expected to be arrested in an EPPO investigation into the fishing port project. He argued that the case was a politically-motivated fabrication ahead of the October 29, 2023 local elections. Portnih, the GERB candidate for re-election, then lost the race after serving as a mayor for ten years. 

Stoyan Pasev, who was Varna Regional Governor between 2014 and 2017, admitted to Nova Television that there was a prosecutor's case file on the fishing port, but denied any charges. "I have not received a subpoena. There may be [charges] and we may not be notified, but that is not the way to accuse people - through the media," Pasev said.

Stela Nikolova, MP of Yes, Bulgaria from the Varna Constituency and ranking member of the party, submitted an alert to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) against Varna's ex-mayor Ivan Portnih, Yes, Bulgaria said in a press release on Monday. "This is a battle I began with the support of the people of Varna back in 2020, and the victory for our city is at long last imminent. It is time that justice has been done and those suspected of abusing EU funds be held responsible for their acts, if proven guilty," Nikolova said, quoted in the press release. "While Bulgarian justice continues to be used as a bludgeon of repression, European justice is acting effectively, and we should endeavour to achieve this standard of the administration of justice instead of relying on somebody else to do our job," argues Nikolova, who is also a former municipal councillor.

Continue the Change, who forms an opposition coalition with Democratic Bulgaria (of which Yes, Bulgaria is a part), also reacted to the news of Portnih's indictment. "The EPPO's disclosures in the case of an alleged fraud resulting in a misappropriation of EUR 3.4 million in EU and national funds for a non-existent fishing port in Varna come as the latest in a series of compelling proofs of the abuse of public funds in this country," the party said.