site.btaUPDATED Board of Sofia's Metro Operator Replaces CEO Amid Controversy

The board of the municipal company Metropolitan, which is the operator of the Sofia underground train service, replaced Friday long-serving CEO Stoyan Bratoev amid a controversy. The new CEO Nikolai Naidenov informed the press about the reshuffle through the half-closed door of his new office. The board meeting was initially scheduled for Friday morning but was moved back to 13:30 and when reporters went there to cover it, it was already over and the reshuffle decision had been made.

It was taken by four of the five board members, the fifth being Bratoev himself. He had refused to attend. The other board members avoided direct interaction with the press and the new CEO was escorted to his office by police.

As he Naidenov said that his predecessor will remain on the board. He, however, would lose his operational power. 

Metropoliten EAD is among the largest public investors in Sofia and one of the biggest municipal investors in Bulgaria, overseeing large-scale infrastructure projects and managing high-value public tenders.

The decision has provoked criticism, especially from the municipal councilors of Save Sofia, which sees the move as an act of sabotage against the Sofia metro. They argue that the decision was politically motivated and that the public was kept in the dark. 

The issue intensified after by Save Sofia allegations that the leadership change was tied to Bratoev's opposition to a controversial public procurement deal for the purchase of new metro trains. Critics claim that his removal opens the door for a more expensive re-tender, which could lead to higher commissions. 

In a Facebook post, Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev wrote that Broatoev's replacement is "a crime against the people of Sofia, who will pay the price through slower expansion of the metro, worse maintenance and safety risks". 

Vanya Grigorova, a municipal councilor from the Socialist group of BSP for Bulgaria, was at the Metropoliten headquarters and told BTA that she went there because it was not right to make changes in a municipal company and keep the Municipal Council in the dark. She also said that the Municipal Council is the principal of Metropoliten EAD and any decisions about its management must be coordinated with the councilors.  

Andrei Zografski, a municipal councilor from the Save Sofia group, said that "all masks have come down" and he was "disgusted". According to him, the purpose has been "a capture of the municipal companies". he said that "gangsters are in charge of running municipal companies worth billions which have never before had problems".

Anton Hekimyan of the GERB group in the Municipal Council said that "Continue the Change installed their man at the helm of Metropoliten". He recalled that Nikolai Naidenov was a deputy transport minister in the government of Continue the Change co-leader Kiril Petkov. He said that Vassil Terziev and Boris Bonev blame GERB for everything "but what they are doing is capture Metropoliten".

Later on Friday, the Metropoliten management posted on Facebook about Broatoev's replacement and said it was prompted by his "advanced age and worsening health" against the backdrop of "a need to step up work in the next couple of years on the projects for development of the Sofia metro".