site.btaChief Expert at State Fund Agriculture Charged with Trade in Influence

Sofia, September 4 (BTA) - The Plovdiv District Prosecutor's Office has filed charges of trading with influence against a chief expert at the State Fund Agriculture, the press centre of the Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office announced on Saturday. On September 2, a 36-year-old chief expert at the State Fund Agriculture - Sofia (SFA) was detained in a police operation of the General Directorate Combating Organized Crime with the Interior Ministry and the Service Combating Organized Crime in Plovdiv (south-central Bulgaria) at a gas station in Sofia, immediately after receiving 5,000 leva marked by the police.

According to the prosecution service, in the period from February 27, 2021 to September 2, 2021, in Plovdiv and in Sofia, on two occasions he requested and accepted from the owner and manager of a company registered in Plovdiv district, money amounting to a total amount of 10,000 leva to exercise influence in decision-making by officials of the State Fund Agriculture in connection with their service.

Work on the case started at the end of July after a signal from a farmer from Plovdiv district, who applied for 9 schemes and measures for support under the SFA. In the course of the investigation it was established that the detained SFA employee had asked the farmer for 5,000 leva for each of the nine schemes he had applied for. In return for this amount, he assured him that there would be no problems with the SFA control bodies.

The police carried out a personal search, searches and seizures of vehicles, two home addresses and one office which seized a portable flash memory, a laptop, an office computer, 2 mobile phones, notes and more. Witnesses were questioned.

The penalty provided by law for the crime he is accused of is imprisonment of up to 6 years or a fine of up to 5,000 leva, according to the release.

DS/MT/