Tycoon Sentenced to Pay Bulgaria BGN 400 000 in Coal Mine Fees

Business » ENERGY | January 3, 2012, Tuesday // 12:46
Bulgaria: Tycoon Sentenced to Pay Bulgaria BGN 400 000 in Coal Mine Fees Otkrit Vagledobiv Mines EAD controlled by energy tycoon Hristo Kovachki will have to pay BGN 423 703,52 in outstanding concession fees. Photo by BGNES

The Pernik District Court has sentenced Otkrit Vagledobiv Mines EAD, the biggest coal mining company in the region controlled by energy tycoon Hristo Kovachki, to pay close to half a million leva in outstanding concession fees.

The sum of BGN 423 703,52 is due for the second half of 2009 and the first half of 2010, including the statutory interest on the unpaid principal amounts,with effect from the date of the filing of the suit, under a a concession contract signed in 2003, the court said in a statement, as cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA).

In end-January 2010, the Ministry of Energy, Economy and Tourism (MIET) filed a claim to the amount of BGN 657 239 against Otkrit Vagledobiv Mines EAD over unpaid concession fees.

Under the contract signed between MIET and the Pernik-based mine, the concession fee is payable semianually and represents a percentage of the company's realized revenue.

The Pernik District Court dismissed as unfounded and unproven the plaintiff's demands for the payment of the full amount of the claim for the second half of 2009 and for a late payment interest.

Otkrit Vagledobiv Mines EAD will also have to cover the court expenses.

The decision is not final and can be appealed before the Sofia Appellate Court.

Last summer, MIET filed a total of 6 lawsuits against companies related to Kovachki, three of which were suspended after the debtors paid the outstanding concession fees.

In December, news portal Mediapool reported that Vaglegobiv Bobov Dol had partially settled its debt and had been sentenced to pay BGN 192 000 by the first-instance court.

Cherno More Burgas Mine AD was sentenced to pay BGN 571 000 plus court expenses by the first-instance court but the decision is not final and can be appealed by the concessionaire.

In April 2010, the Sofia City Court handed down a 3 year suspended sentence plus 4 years of probation to the energy tycoon for tax evasion to the amount of BGN BGN 16.7 M.

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Tags: Hristo Kovachki, mines, concession, concessionaire, interest, Sofia City Court, Ministry of Energy, Economy and Tourism, Sofia Appellate Court

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