site.btaCulture Minister Initiates Probes Across All Theatres in Wake of Embezzlement Case

"I have initiated checks across absolutely all theatres to find out if there are embezzlement cases elsewhere," caretaker Culture Minister Nayden Todorov told NOVA TV Sunday evening. 

His comments came in the wake of information about embezzlement of public funds in state-owned theatres in Razgrad, northeastern Bulgaria, Smolyan, southern Bulgaria, whose directors have been charged.

Last Thursday, Plovdiv, southern Bulgaria, Deputy District Prosecutor Galin Gavrilov announced that Smolyan Drama Theatre Director Rumen Bechev has been charged with  gross embezzlement. Prosecutors have found that Bechev used the same scheme as one applied by the Director of the Razgrad theatre, Levon Manoukyan, which is why both will be probed in one pre-trial proceeding. The embezzlement took place in August and September.

A total of five people were arrested. The two of them have been released on bail. 

Todorov also said that this inspection will reassure the people who work honestly in the theatres. "Anyone who works in a theatre cannot be accused of being a fraudster just because they work there," the caretaker Minister said. 

He pointed out that "this scheme is not new". Todorov explained that the Ministry of Culture has no way of seeing the details of what is going on because budget institutions are independent both legally and financially. The directors of the theatres operate absolutely independently for their budgets with the staff schedules and so on, Todorov explained.

"We in the Ministry see the amounts requested and the paragraphs for which they are requested, but no other details. Whoever carried out the scheme was intelligent enough to manage these amounts in smaller chunks. We have not been asked for the amount of BGN 1 million, we have been asked for many smaller amounts several times, over several days, which do not arouse suspicion," the caretaker Minister explained. Only when we made a check towards the end of the month, and not only for the Razgrad theatre, we found out that such things were happening," Todorov added. 

"The official information we have is the same as the media, the caretaker Minister said. Asked whether it was possible that people from the Ministry of Culture were involved in this scheme, Todorov said he did not believe so. "I would like to say no, but this is not an answer that is given willingly, which is why I have called the Inspectorate General of the Council of Ministers to do a full inspection of the Ministry of Culture and then we will have the answer to this question," he explained.

The Minister of Culture expressed hope that this is the beginning of a healing process for the entire cultural system in Bulgaria. 

Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev ordered the Inspectorate of the Council of Ministers to probe the work of the officials who exercise control the activities of the State cultural institutes, for which information has come to light about flagrant financial abuse of public funds.