site.btaNew Court Decision in Legal Saga over Plovdiv Fair Ownership

Sofia City Court declared null and void a transfer of shares in the International Plovdiv Fair by the Varna Municipality to the privately-owned Puldin Tourinvest AD, after finding that it flagrantly violated the Privatization and Post-Privatization Control Act, the Economy Ministry announced Wednesday. The case was opened on a claim by this Ministry as it tried to prevent the loss of control by the State over the Plovdiv Fair.

By the same decision, the court dismissed a claim by the Economy Minister contesting the transfer of the same shares - 16,314,400 registered non-materialized shares constituting a 29% interest in the Plovdiv Fair - by the State to Varna Municipality. The court argued that Varna Municipality never acquired the ownership of the said shares and they remain State-owned.

The decision is not final and may be appealed.

The court also ordered the Varna Municipality to pay BGN 754,593 to the State, represented by the Economy Minister, for legal costs and stamp duty.

The Economy Ministry said in its announcement that it will continue to stand up for the public interest and the ownership of the State as regards the part of the court decision that dismissed the Ministry's claim.

"The development of the Plovdiv Fair remains a key priority for the State," the Ministry said.

Asked to comment the court decision in the corridors of Parliament on Wednesday, MP and former Economy Minister Bogdan Bogdanov, who was the one to take the matter to court, said that "a success came after more than 12 years of legal battled for restoring the state ownership and stopping the clandestine privatization of the Plovdiv Fair".

MP Stela Nikolova (Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria), who was elected to Parliament in the Varna constituency, said that Varna Municipality "had no moral right to dispose of these shares".

She hopes that the Varna City Hall won't contest the court ruling and will seek the money the court ordered it to pay to the Economy Ministry for legal costs, from former varna Mayor Ivan Portnih, who refused to comply with a 2017 decision by the Varna Municipal Council to return the Plovdiv Fair shares to the State.

Nikolova also expressed hope that "the prosecution service will do its job and not quietly abandon the case file against Portnih, again".

This MP has referred to the Varna Appellate Prosecution Office the refusal of the lower-instance prosecution service to probe Portnih over his actions in the Plovdiv Fair shares case.

Ownership saga 

A decision by the State in 2016 led to the transfer of a 49.63% stake in the International Fair of Plovdiv to the municipalities of Plovdiv and Varna.

Granting a request by then Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, Plovdiv gave back to the State its 20%. The Varna Municipal Council, too, decided to return the shares but no practical action followed to implement that by the local authorities under then Mayor Ivan Portnih.

In 2021, the Municipal Council made a different decision and what followed was a swap in which Varna contributed its Plovdiv Fair shares to Puldin Tourinvest AD controlled by Plovdiv-based businessman Georgi Gergov. That increased the share of the Plovdiv Fair majority owner Gergov to close to 80%.

The disputed shares are currently distrained by the court while the ownership is being disputed.

Established in 1892, the Plovdiv Fair is the largest one in Bulgaria. Occupying a total area of 352,000 sq m and an exhibition area of 137,831 sq m, half of it indoors, it is also the largest fair complex in Southeastern Europe. It has 19 multifunctional exposition halls and an up-to-date congress centre with 13 conference and seminar rooms.