Bulgarian Revenue Agency Probes Energy Watchdog Ex Boss

Bulgaria's National Revenue Agency, NRA, together with the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office is launching a probe in the assets of the former chief of the country's energy watchdog, Angel Semerdzhiev.

The NRA auditors will investigate Semerdzhiev's declared income and assets against his real ones, NRA announced Monday.

The probe will also include members of the family of the former Head of the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation, DKEVR. The results will be sent to the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office.

Semerdzhiev resigned amidst an electricity pricing scandal triggered by reports that EC is referring Bulgaria, Estonia and the United Kingdom to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to fully apply the EU internal energy market rules.

According to the EC's press office, to date Bulgaria, Estonia and the UK have only partially transposed the Electricity and Gas Directives. The Directives had to be transposed by the Member States by 3 March 2011.

Economy and Energy Minister, Delyan Dobrev, blamed DKEVR for the EC case against Bulgaria.

At first, Semerdzhiev stated that DKEVR has already adopted one of the said Directives.

He explained the remaining 3 directives will be prepared by DKEVR in just days, and stated the deadline for the latter was mid-July and obviously no one had told Dobrev that a one year delay of all directives was included in the law.

However, on January 28th, he logged the request to be released before the end of his term in office as a Chair and member of the watchdog.

DKEVR is currently without a Chairperson as Yuliana Ivanova was dismissed Sunday just four days after her appointment when it emerged her company illegally sold cigarettes online.