site.btaReport on Corpbank Doesn't Say Who Siphoned The Bank - MPs

Report on Corpbank Doesn't Say Who Siphoned The Bank - MPs

Sofia, February 24 (BTA) - The report about the Corporate Commercial Bank (Corpbank) does not point out who has siphoned the bank, MPs having familiarized themselves with the document told journalists here.

On Tuesday, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov  sent to Parliament's secretarial office a classified report  by AlixPartners Services UK LLP which was hired to track and  recover the assets of the failed Corpbank. Responding to a request by the government that the report be  made public, AlixPartners wrote to the Finance Ministry on  Monday that in the interest of preserving the bankruptcy estate,  the confidentiality clauses of their contract should be  observed. However, considering the overriding public interest to  uncover the truth about the failure of Corpbank, AlixPartners  agree to have the report available in the classified department  of Parliament's secretarial office where the MPs can view it on  condition of non-disclosure.

The mechanisms of siphoning the bank become partially clear but the people behind them are not identified, independent MP Georgi Kadiev said Wednesday. The MP said he is not pleased with the report. The document is good in terms of accounting: it points out credits, recipient-companies, provides an assessment of what can be received from that and gives recommendations to this end, Kadiev explained. Given that the recommendations were given on September 23, the MP wants to know what has been done in the meantime regarding their fulfillment.

Roumen Gechev of BSP-Left Bulgaria commented that the report is professional and will be useful for the state and the institutions. Asked about the culprits for the bank's siphoning, Gechev replied that the report does not name a specific person. "It is not their business to point a finger at the culprits. This is an obligation of the Bulgarian prosecution authority."

Reformist Bloc Co-floor Leader Radan Kanev said that he has not yet got familiarized with the Coprbnak report but, judging from what he has heard from colleagues, it is not likely to disclose the truth about the bank's siphoning.

The truth about Corpbank has been clear for a long time: it was run by the majority owner and the shareholders as a pyramid scheme, Movement for Rights and Freedoms MP Yordan Tsonev said. The main assets bought with depositors' money are not in the bank. Tsonev said further he has not read the report but referred to his colleagues' comments as saying that the document largely confirms the scheme of the bank's management. 'I do not know what do you expect to be disclosed in regards to Corpbank? Everything is clear, including the inaction of the state bodies,' the MP commented.

According to Tsonev, the next step is to declassify the report of AlixPartners and make it available to the media and the public. In his opinion, this may be done within two weeks.