site.btaSofia City Court Opens Proceedings in Fraud Case against Former Varna Mayor Ivan Portnih

The Sofia City Court has opened proceedings in the case against former Varna mayor and current GERB Varna regional coordinator Ivan Portnih. All witnesses in the case will be questioned and it will proceed under the general procedure.

Portnih is charged together with former regional governor Stoyan Pasev, as well as two civil servants from the Maritime Administration Executive Agency, with fraud related to the reconstruction of a non-existent fishing port. The indictment states that official documents were falsified and false information was provided in order to unlawfully obtain EUR 3.4 million from EU funds and the national budget for a project aimed at improving the infrastructure of a supposed fishing port on the outskirts of the city, submitted by Varna Municipality (the beneficiary).