Kostadin Pavlov, Deputy Mayor and interim Mayor of the southern Bulgarian municipality of Kuklen, has been charged with bribery, trading in influence, and malfeasance.

The indictment is against Pavlov in his capacity of Deputy Mayor of Kuklen acting as interim Mayor of Kuklen, and Nadezhda Mincheva, owner of the Nadezhda 2000 company, according to a media statement of the Plovdiv District Prosecutor’s Office, as cited by the BGNES news agency.

According to the prosecuting authority, in the period April – May, 14, 2013 Pavlov accepted a bribe of BGN 3000 from Mincheva in exchange for awarding a public procurement for the supply of food to a kindergarten and a social care center in Kuklen.

Pavlov opened the price bids, compared them to that submitted by the Nadezhda 2000 company, and awarded the contract to Mincheva. He hid the bids of 3 other companies which were better than that of Nadezhda 2000.

Mincheva’s company made a profit amounting to BGN 74 327, the value of the one-year contract.

In June 2014, Pavlov accepted a bribe of BGN 1200 from Nadezhda Mincheva in exchange for influencing the selection of a contractor under a public procurement procedure for the supply of food to a kindergarten and a social care center in Kuklen.

Mincheva has been charged with offering a bribe to a senior official and trading in influence.

She faces a penalty of up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to BGN 15 000.

Pavlov faces a penalty of 3-15 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to BGN 25 000, confiscation of property, and deprivation of the right to hold certain jobs.

The two have been released on a bail amounting to BGN 4000 per person.