site.btaPrime Minister Alerts Prosecutors and SANS about Alleged Bribe in Chimco Sale

Prime Minister Alerts Prosecutors and SANS about Alleged Bribe in Chimco Sale

Sofia, January 25 (BTA) - Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on Monday alerted the Prosecution of Bulgaria and the State Agency for National Security about allegations of a 500,000 euro bribe which US investor ANJ Group Corp. was asked to pay in order to acquire the Chimco urea plant in Vratsa, Northwestern Bulgaria, the Council of Ministers reported. The Prime Minister called for an effective investigation to uncover the whole truth about the case.

Earlier in the day, the Council of Ministers said in another press release that on January 15 its records office received a letter from ANJ president Ian Aronov which was also addressed to Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov and the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Bulgaria, Martina Strong. In the letter, Aronov complained of corruption in the sale procedure for Chimco AD, non-transparent actions taken by the plant's trustee in bankruptcy and violations of Bulgarian legislation and a court order. The sender called on Prime Minister Borissov to intervene in order to stop the activities of "this group."

According to the Council of Ministers press release, the Prime Minister has no advisor whose last name is Bogdanov, nor did he have such an advisor around September 8, 2015, as Aronov claimed in his letter.

The Council of Ministers noted that the state holds no stake in Chimco. The assets of the bankrupt plant are being sold in order to satisfy creditor claims. The sale is being conducted by Rossitsa Tomova, a trustee appointed by the bankruptcy court, in accordance with a procedure established by the Commercial Code. Therefore, the Prime Minister cannot intervene in the case because this would run counter to the constitutional rule of division between the executive and judicial branches of government, the press release said.

Last week, a number of news media quoted Tomova as saying that NSN Investment, a company controlled by Delyan Peevski MP of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, has been the only bidder for the purchase of Chimco's assets and has been approved as the buyer. The reserve price was 11.7 million leva, and that was probably also the price offered by Peevski.

The media quoted Aronov as writing in the above-mentioned letter that the alleged bribe was demanded in the presence of eyewitnesses and Tomova was involved in it.