The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office (SGP) has filed a warrant to charge a former acting Minister of the Interior with embezzlement in the amount of 1,482,218 leva.
The pre-trial proceedings were initiated on 16.01.2024.
After analyzing the evidence collected to date, the supervising prosecutor has come to the conclusion that there are reasonable grounds to believe that a crime under Art. 219, para. 4 in connection with para. 1 of the Criminal Code has been committed – mismanagement on a particularly large scale and representing a particularly serious case.
Specifically, on 02.06.2023 in the city of Sofia, in his capacity as an official, the Acting Minister of the Interior, did not take sufficient care of the management of the property entrusted to him, by signing an additional agreement to increase the prices of activities, the subject of a contract for the construction of a system for the preparation of Bulgarian personal documents, in violation of the Public Procurement Act and the Internal Rules for the Management of the Public Procurement Cycle in the Ministry of the Interior.
In the specified period, the Acting Minister of the Interior was Ivan Demerdzhiev.
The price increase was not carried out according to a methodology approved by an act of the Council of Ministers, without a draft additional agreement being prepared by a lawyer in the “Legal and Regulatory Services“ sector of the “Property Management and Social Activities“ Directorate at the Ministry of Interior and without a market study of the prices of the activities under the contract by assigning a market valuation to certified appraisers. This resulted in particularly large damages - 1,482,218 leva.
A "Guarantee" measure of restraint was issued against the accused in the amount of 10,000 leva.
The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office will ensure the accurate establishment of all facts in the case, the disclosure of the objective truth and compliance with the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria.