site.btaAppellate Court Upholds Reversal of Dismissal of Lake Varna Pollution Case

The Appellate Court of Varna has upheld a decision of the Varna District Court, which reversed the dismissal of a case against former mayor Ivan Portnih in connection with wastewater pollution of Lake Varna, the court said on Wednesday.

The court argued that the prosecutor's office had wrongly terminated the criminal proceedings, holding that the investigation had not established any inaction on the part of the mayor. However, according to evidence in the case, the pollution of inland marine waters lasted from August 2019 to September 2020, and former mayor Portnih knew about the potential environmental danger since 2015. However, the court said, no adequate action was taken for over four years to prevent the problem.

The case went through several stages. Initially, the prosecution filed an indictment that included more charges, but the investigation subsequently focused entirely on the lake pollution. The former mayor was accused of not taking sufficient care as an official in the management of the property entrusted to him, which resulted in significant material damage. Portnih was also charged with allowing inland marine waters to become polluted, resulting in becoming unfit for use.

After the Varna District Court returned the case for removal of procedural violations, the prosecutor's office terminated the proceedings in October 2024 on the grounds that the charges were not statutory. However, the termination was reversed by the District Court and now the Varna Appellate Court has upheld this decision, declaring it legal and correct.

The ruling is final.