site.btaUPDATED European Prosecutors Probe Railway Works in Bulgaria

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) reported on its website on Friday that it carried out searches Thursday at 28 locations in six regions in an investigation into two projects for the modernisation of the railway infrastructure worth over EUR 241 million in EU financing.

More than 100 police officers and agents from the National Police General Directorate and the State Agency for National Security were involved in the searches, carried out at 28 locations in the regions of Sofia, Burgas, Varna, Stara Zagora, Smolyan and Pazardzhik, the press release specified.

On the radar of the EPPO are two projects for the modernisation of the railway infrastructure. The first concerns the Kostenets-Septemvri section of the Sofia-Plovdiv railway line, financed with more than EUR 130 million by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The second involves the modernisation of the Orizovo-Mihaylovo railway section, which is part of the second phase of the rehabilitation of the Plovdiv-Burgas railway infrastructure, financed with over EUR 111 million by the Cohesion Fund under Operational Programme Transport and Transport Infrastructure.

The beneficiary of both projects is the National Railway Infrastructure Company, and the construction contracts were awarded to two private companies with international participation.

The works on these two sections of railway tracks are still ongoing, but several payments have already been made by the beneficiary to the contractors.

The investigation uncovered facts that could constitute criminal offences, including misuse of EU funds and money laundering. The contractors are suspected of having made, in a short period of time, fictitious money transfers to a chain of hollow companies, which ultimately led to the withdrawal of cash amounts of more than EUR 2.5 million (BGN 5 million) by individuals with criminal records.

During Thursday's searches, carried out at the suspects' homes and at the premises of the companies under investigation, two individuals were arrested. In addition, public officials from the National Railway Infrastructure Company will be questioned, regarding the disbursement of EU funds.

The investigation is ongoing, in order to ascertain the nature and extent of the suspected criminal activities, the EPPO said.

The Transport and Communications Ministry supports EPPO's investigation for irregularities in two railway infrastructure modernization projects, the Ministry said in a press release on Friday.

The ministry recalls that one of the first steps that Transport Minister Georgi Gvozdeikov took upon taking office was to audit how public funds are spent in the ministry's structures.

"I have immediately ordered the National Railway Infrastructure Company to fully cooperate with the prosecutor's office and I hope it will go all the way in its investigation," Gvozdeikov commented.