site.btaCabinet Reports Systematic Violations, Unlawful Spending of Public Funds in Two Theatres

The Chief Inspectorate of the Council of Ministers has reported systematic violations and unlawful spending of public funds by officials at the Ministry of Culture, who were responsible for overseeing the Center of Drama Theater and Music in Razgrad and the Rhodopean Drama Theatre in Smolyan, the Council of Ministers press service reported on Friday. The report follows an audit ordered by caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev in early October. 

In violation of the Rules of Procedure of the Ministry of Culture and the rules for the implementation of the delegated budget system in the state cultural institutes, spending limits were not set for individual cultural institutions in 2024. This led to the approval of unlawful spending on salaries, the Council of Ministers said.

In August and September 2024, the Center of Drama Theater and Music in Razgrad was paid a total of BGN 1,915,267 in salaries, remuneration and other payments for staff, with salary expenses rising over 11 times in September compared to the previous month. Similarly, the Rhodopean Drama Theatre in Smolyan was paid BGN 1,533,488 for staff wages over the same period, with salary expenses increasing 14 times in August and 16 times in September compared to the average wage costs in the cultural institution.

Other violations were related to the performance of official duties, according to the report. Recommendations were made to seek disciplinary action against the Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture and the head of the Performing Arts and Artistic Education Directorate.

On October 6, caretaker Minister of Culture Nayden Todorov said that his Ministry sees the amounts requested and the paragraphs for which they are requested but no other details. “Whoever carried out the scheme was smart enough to manage these amounts in smaller chunks. We were not asked for BGN 1 million, we were asked for many smaller amounts several times, over several days, which do not arouse suspicion. Only when we checked towards the end of the month, and we checked not just the theatre in Razgrad, did we find out that this was happening," Todorov said.