site.btaDunarit Pays Lv 50 Mln Debt to State Consolidation Company

Rousse, August 31 (BTA) - Using its own funds, Rousse-based Dunarit Corp. has paid ahead of maturity all 50 million leva it owes the State Consolidation Company (SCC), the explosives manufacturer's Executive Director Krustyo Krustev commented to journalists here on Thursday. He specified that the decision to pay the debt was made by the company's Board of Directors on Wednesday.

Krustev said that on Monday, August 28, they learnt that the SCC had acquired their debt.

"If under the previous circumstances we had to pay somebody who is unknown and is based somewhere on some islands and its owner is unclear, now we are dealing with something legitimate in the person of the State, of the SCC," Krustev said, explaining why the debt was paid right now. "We have these resources, we have done our estimates to pay it and get it over and done with," he noted.

He was apparently referring to a chain of cessions by which the debt in question was transferred from one creditor to another. One of these creditors, Viafolt Limited, registered in the British Virgin Islands and reportedly linked to Movement for Rights and Freedoms Delyan Peevski, sold its receivable from Dunarit in July to Bulgarian arms manufacturer Dipi EOOD which, in turn, sold it to the trustees in bankruptcy of Corpbank. For their part, the trustees transferred the debt to the SCC, which planned to acquire the enterprise by public auction, announced at the insistence of Economy Minister Emil Karanikolov.

It emerged on Thursday that one reason why the debt was repaid was to prevent speculation about the Government's intentions. On Monday Karanikolov said that his Ministry was taking steps to acquire the plant by starting to purchase all receivables, which would prevent an ensuing bankruptcy procedure or asset sale that would plunge the Bulgarian military-industrial complex into a crisis and result in thousands of job losses.

Krustev explained that the Economy Minister had been informed of the payment of the debt. At Karanikolov's recommendation, a managerial agent has been appointed at Dunarit.

The CEO thanked the Economy Minister for his active intervention that helped to suspend a procedure for the withdrawal of the company's manufacturing, trade and storage licence.

Dunarit manufactures aerial, artillery and engineer ammunition, industrial explosives, and railroad maintenance and repair machines. Its licence was called into question when the prosecution service pressed charges against Krustev and another senior executive in the company, as well as against Emco owner Emilian Gebrev, who are suspected of siphoning off funds from Dunarit and engaging in money laundering.