site.btaPM Denkov Dismisses Agricultural Academy President Martin Banov

By order of Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, Agricultural Academy President Prof. Martin Banov has been dismissed from his post, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food announced.

The dismissal is in connection with a report of the Minister of Agriculture and Food Kiril Vatev and an application for resignation from Banov. The Prime Minister's order is based on the Agricultural Academy Act.

Martin Banov and the Deputy Director of the Institute of Soil Science, Agrotechnology and Plant Protection, Veneta Krasteva, were charged with illegally downgrading the category of agricultural land, the prosecution service said on October 25.

In June of last year, the two committed malfeasance with the aim of obtaining property benefits, which consisted in the unlawful downgrading of agricultural land to enable third parties to build solar installations on it. The pre-trial proceedings were initiated at the end of August after an inspection by the Counter-Corruption Commission.