site.btaEPPO Probes into Bulgarian Church Restoration on Suspicion of Subsidy Fraud

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) said that ten searches were carried out on November 20, in a probe into suspected subsidy fraud involving the restoration of a church, funded by the EU. 

During the searches, conducted in Burgas, Petrich, Rila and Sofia, documents and evidence were seized.

In 2017, a public procurement procedure was conducted for a project to restore wall paintings and architectural details of a church dating back to the 12th century, financed by the EU's INTERREG IPA Cross Border Cooperation Programme. The church is considered a historical and cultural monument in Bulgaria.

According to the investigation, the company that won the bid did not have the expertise required in the public procedure, and sub-contracted the works to another company. However, the subcontractor did not have the necessary technical skills, either, and subcontracted a third company, which had the required expertise and executed the restoration, EPPO said.

The amount of the support for the restoration was EUR 198,000. The first contractor received the total amount, and only paid EUR 70,000 to the subcontractors, thus keeping EUR 128,000 without performing any activities under the project, to the detriment of the EU's financial interests. 

The press release does not name the church or its location.