Page 42 - bnemagazine bne_December 2021_20211203.pdf

42 I Southeast Europe bne December 2021
Bulgaria reveals how millions of euros were siphoned off from Hemus motorway construction
Denitsa Koseva in Sofia
Around BGN60mn (€30.7mn) paid in advance for the construction of Lot 5 of Bulgaria’s Hemus motorway was transferred to shell companies and then exported from the country in bags and sacks, caretaker Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov said
on November 5.
A day earlier, the arrest of more than 10 people suspected of involvement in stealing money paid in advance for the construction of the motorway was announced.
At a press conference on November 5, Rashkov said that the BGN60mn
was part of a BGN84mn payment in advance for the construction of Lot 5. He explained that this was just one case of siphoning of funds from the construction of the motorway.
www.bne.eu
According to Petar Todorov, secretary
of the interior ministry, the money
was transferred to shell companies registered just days before the money was paid. Their owners were the subjects
from one of the shell companies in
23 operations between June and September. BGN12mn was withdrawn from another shell company within six days at the end of 2020, BGN20mn
“All the shell companies had capital of BGN2 and were officially owned by people with no assets and with criminal files"
of criminal files, and signed letters of attorney at a cafe. Other people then withdrew the money in cash, taking BGN1mn at a time.
Plamen Tonchev, the head of the national security agency, said that BGN12mn was withdrawn in cash
between end-October 2020 and mid- January 2021 from a third company and BGN13mn from a fourth.
All the shell companies had capital of BGN2 and were officially owned
by people with no assets and with criminal files. They had no equipment