site.btaPetrich Mayor “Takes Pride” in History Museum Even as He Faces Fraud Accusations from Luxembourg

The mayor of the southwestern Bulgarian town of Petrich, near the border with Greece, told BTA on Wednesday that he is proud of the local Museum of History and is not worried that the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has formally accused him of fraud in the construction of the EU-funded museum.

Dimitar Brachkov explained that the crux of the matter is an alleged violation of an agreement with the Greek municipality of Serres, which he described as a “friendly municipality” to Petrich and a partner in the project for building the museum. The violation reportedly consisted in a failure to notify the Serres authorities of certain circumstances, as a result of which the Greek side incurred detriment, the Mayor said.

According to an EPPO press release on Tuesday, Mayor Brachkov concealed from Serres municipality the fact that the museum was built as an entirely new structure rather than being converted from an existing building.

On Wednesday, Brachkov told BTA: “We are yet to get familiarized with the course of the [EPPO] proceedings in greater detail.” He said Petrich municipality will provide all necessary evidence to prove that the project was implemented correctly. Witnesses will be found, he added.

Brachkov recalled that the project for building the Petrich Museum of History started in 2016. The EPPO accusations rest on circumstances dating from early 2019. It has been six years since then, so it will take some time to build the case of the defence, the Mayor said.

On a positive note, he said, the accusations will draw even more visitors to the museum. “Automatically, this will bring benefit for the municipality by creating added value for tourism and the economy, and for everything in terms of heritage that we have preserved in this building.”

The place has been inspected repeatedly over the years, Brachkov said, noting that the municipal government has won two administrative cases related to the building of the museum. The Blagoevgrad Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court have rendered definitive judgments in the two cases. This has led to the annulment of many of the corrections imposed under “the programme,” the Mayor said, obviously referring to the 2014-2020 INTERREG V-A Greece-Bulgaria Cooperation Programme, under which the project used EUR 647,000 in co-funding from the European Regional Development Fund to showcase the shared cultural heritage of Bulgaria and Greece. Brachkov added that several prosecutorial procedures related to the project have been discontinued.

He commented: “This kind of buildings are meant to stay for the future generations. People from across Bulgaria, many of the European partners of the museum, ambassadors and consuls have come here to see what we have left for the coming generations.”