Bulgaria's Regional Development Ministry will try to contest a deal with state property in Sofia in the courts, its head Minister Lilyana Pavlova has said.

Tsarski konyushni ("Royal Stables"), of which the state owned 84%, was sold by tye former Sofia District Governor Veselin Penev at suspiciously low prices. Penev subsequently stepped down and his resignation was accepted by the cabinet on Tuesday.

Pavlova told public broadcaster BNT, also on Wednesday, there were numerous issues with the deal that were yet to be made clear.

For example, the identity of the owner of 16% of Tsarski konyushni, who had purchased part of it years back, was disputed by several "owners", she added.

Secondly, a number of deals related to parts of the property had been sealed prior to the transaction done by Penev, despite the lack of certainty on the ownership.

Asked about reports that a mortgage had been placed on some of the privately-owned spaces, Pavlova told she had the same information, but called for patience before it was confirmed.

Additionally, the deal had not been agreed by all owners of buildings on the plot where Tsarski konyushni was located, which included the Agriculture Ministry, the Interior Ministry, and Sofia heating utility Toplofikatsiya.

"We have an act of disagreement, on paper, from the Agriculture Ministry, for the deal to go on," she added.

One of the alleged "plot owners", to whom Penev had sold Tsarski konyushni, meanwhile told private bTV station that the latest deal had followed a court dispute in which he had helped the state to regain 84% of the plot, unlawfully sold to an unnamed company along with the 16% share in question that he allegedly owned at the time.

Only then did he purchase the 84% from the state, he argued.

 

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