site.btaAnalysts: Corruption Is the Key Political, Economic and Social Problem in Bulgaria

Analysts: Corruption Is the Key Political, Economic and Social Problem in Bulgaria

Sofia, April 13 (BTA) - Corruption is the worst political, economic and social problem in Bulgaria, the Institute of Market Economy (IME) says in a new analysis released Wednesday. It says that Bulgaria does not have a specialized counter-corruption authority and that a reform is needed in the administrative bodies to ensure efficient combat against corruption.

The analysts cite a European Parliament study saying that Bulgaria loses between 14 and 22 per cent of its GDP due to corruption practices every year.

IME argues in favour of a proposed establishment of a single authority to run integrity, conflict-of-intrest and property checks for senior office-holders. A serious drawback of the bill that provides for setting up such a body, however, is the planned incorporation in it of the existing criminal assets forfeiture commission. It means that the new body will establish and punish conflict of interest, and then will petition the court to forfeit assets based on its own penal decrees, which could lead to injustice and unlawful repressions, the IME analysts say.

IME put most of the blame for the poor results in fighting corruption on an unreformed prosecution magistracy. Its worst weakness is excessive centralization which leads to rigidity in the actions of the grassroot prosecutors and lack of initiative. They argue that the reform in the prosecution service should include the establishment of an anti-corruption unit of prosecutors working independently of the Prosecutor General and reporting to the Supreme Judicial Council and/or Parliament.

IME argues that the Bulgarian administrative and law-enforcement legislation must have adopted long ago the international practice for investigative bodies to act on anonymous alerts. Such sources are conditionally anonymous because the software systems used to send the alert allow tracing the sender, the analysts say adding that the Code of Criminal Procedure provides safeguards for the rights of investigated persons.

"On the other hand, fears that in the conditions of an inefficient judiciary such alerts could be used to justify repressions by the control bodies, are most legitimate," the analysis says. This is why IMe suggests that anonymous alerts should be introduced at a later stage of the reform after the future counter-corruption body has proven capable of working independently.