Bulgaria Prosecutors Press Charges against Ex-Defense Minister

Bulgaria’s Prosecutor's Office has officially charged former Defense Minister, Nikolay Tsonev, with signing deals that were unfavorable for the Ministry.

One of those contracts is the purchase of an US assembly line for the building of hangars, warehouses, dormitories and others for the cost of BGN 13 M.

Tsonev is probed for deals concluded as early as the 1999-2000 period, when he has been the Head of the “Supply Management” Directorate at the Defense Ministry.

Unprofitable contracts concluded by Tsonev involve the supply and the storage of food, technical equipment, and spare parts for the army leading to State losses on the amount BGN 1 M and USD 143 000.

Bulgaria's previous Socialist-led government has been lately hit by a series of corruption scandals.

Former prime minister Sergey Stanishev has been accused of losing classified reports on crime, while ex-farm Minister Valeri Tsvetanov has been charged with abuse of power.

Bulgarian prosecutors have asked parliament to strip former Labour Minister Emilia Maslarova of her immunity from prosecution so that they can investigate her for large-scale embezzlement.

Bulgaria's new center-right government, which swept the elections in July, is struggling to shake off the country's reputation for rampant corruption and crime, and has pledged to step up the fight against graft.

However, the EU newcomer has yet to convict any senior officials and has put only one criminal boss in jail.