site.btaConflict-of-Interest Claim against President Radev Dismissed

August 5 (BTA) - The Counter-corruption and Unlawfully Acquired Assets Forfeiture Commission (CCUAAFC) has concluded that President Rumen Radev was not in a conflict-of-interest situation, as alleged by a claimant, and has terminated the proceedings against Radev. The conclusion has been published on the CCUAAFC website.

The Commission quotes the claimant as alleging that Radev abused his authority in his former capacity as Air Force commander in order to arrange for his future wife Dessislava Gencheva (currently: Dessislava Radeva) to have two jobs, although one of the jobs, that of a public relations officer of the Air Force, should have been assigned to a military officer, while Radeva was a civilian. The claimant further said that the Air Force was paying a rent for a dwelling in Sofia occupied by Gencheva in co-habitation with Radev.

In 2010, Radev, then deputy commander of the Air Force, allegedly bought an apartment in Sofia with a floor area of 143 square metres for a price of 168,000 leva, which was below the market price level. Earlier on, while serving as commander of the Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Radev was involved in a situation where an apartment of the Ministry of Defence was bought in 2005, and in the meantime, another apartment of the Ministry was used unlawfully. The purchased apartment was eventually sold in 2007.

The alert against Radev, which was received online, did not provide evidence about any violations of the then-effective Conflict of Interest Prevention and Ascertainment Act, CCUAAFC says. It also argues that the contracts for renting or buying the real estate in question were concluded by Radev as a natural person, not a public official. Moreover, there was no legal connection between Radev and Dessislava Gencheva prior to their marriage.

CCUAAFC notes that no conflict of interest was detected as there was no private interest on the part of Radev or a person connected to him. IG/VE