site.btaEuropean Prosecutors Charge Bulgarian Entrepreneur with Fraud Involving Dairy Facility Construction

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) said in a press release on Thursday that it filed an indictment against an entrepreneur accused of using false documentation to obtain EU funds for the construction of a dairy facility. 

The defendant is the manager of a company that obtained support amounting to EUR 474,000 (BGN 927,352.44) from State Fund Agriculture for a project to build a factory to process raw milk and produce dairy products.

In order to receive an advance payment of the funds, the manager submitted a bank guarantee that was rejected by the Paying Agency as it did not comply with the requirements. The defendant then allegedly presented a forged amendment to the original bank guarantee to make it appear as if it had been issued by the bank with the required changes, thus misleading the Paying Agency, which made an advance payment of EUR 237,000 (BGN 463,676.21), equivalent to 50% of the funds. 

In addition, according to the investigation, the works for which the beneficiary received the funds were never executed. 

If convicted, the defendant faces a sentence of between two and eight years of imprisonment.