site.btaSofia Ombudsman Disagrees with Unjust Nationalization of Dormant Mass Privatization Shares

January 28 (BTA) - Sofia ombudsman Maya Manolova sent a
statement to the Finance Ministry, voicing her explicit
disagreement with the concept for personal accounts of
individuals and legal entities led by Central Depository in the
so-called Register A, which was published for open discussion on
 the ministry's website, Manolova' press centre said on Monday.

Manolova set forth arguments against the project's measures that
 aim to solve the long-standing problem of the so-called dormant
 or inactive shares in the mass privatization from more than 20
years ago. According to the ombudsman, the document provides for
 nationalization of the shares without owners' consent and
without any compensation.

In her statement, Manolova wrote: "I do not deny the fact that
there is a problem in need of solving, but I do not find it
constitutional or fair to deprive millions of shareholders of
their share rights from the mass privatization without
compensation or without giving them access to the expected
financial benefits from the process of "waking up" the shares".

In the past week, a number of employers' organizations demanded
that the concept be revoked. RY/TH


/СН/