site.btaProsecutors Challenge Ex-Economy Minister's MP Immunity

The Sofia City Prosecution Office has proposed to the Prosecutor General to ask for lifting of the immunity of an MP identified only as D.D., a former economy minister. The proposal was drawn up in connection with pre-trial proceedings, in which the MP is accused of very serious intentional mismanagement.

The MP allegedly committed the crime in his capacity as minister of economy, energy and tourism, when he did not exercise sufficient control on the executive director and the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH). The prosecutors claim that D.D. did not organize, coordinate and control the implementation of a resolution of the National Assembly of March 29, 2012 terminating the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant and did not exercise control on a matter within his competence. The supervising prosecutor holds that this caused considerable detriment exceeding EUR 4.56 million to the National Electricity Company (NEK), a BEH subsidiary.

The only former economy minister with these initials is Delyan Dobrev, now MP of GERB-UDF. The first request for lifting of his immunity as MP dates from October 24, 2016, on suspicions that in his former capacity as minister of economy, energy and tourism, he failed to ensure the termination of a contract between NEK and Parsons E&C Europe Limited for the construction of a second Bulgarian nuclear power plant at Belene.

Back in 2016, the prosecution recalled that the contract was signed on January 31, 2005. Although the National Assembly scrapped the Belene N-plant project in 2012, the contract with Parsons E&C Europe was not terminated and NEK continued to make payments, which amounted to EUR 4,561,697.