SOFIA - On behalf of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia, the Bulgarian National Police carried out several searches on June 19, in an investigation into suspected passive corruption and abuse of office affecting EU-funded maritime and fisheries programmes, EPPO said in a media statement.

 

The searches targeted private residences and work premises in Sofia and Oryahovo and are linked to officials from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries directorate at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food – the managing authority of the EU funds concerned, suspected of passive corruption and abuse of office.

 

 

The investigation relates to multiple projects funded under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), under the Programmes for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries for the periods 2014–2020 and 2021–2027.

 

It is alleged that, in 2024, a company manager was asked to provide an undue financial advantage in exchange for the approval of a payment of 230 088 euro under a project for the development of a fish farm. The request was allegedly made on behalf of a senior official at the managing authority, who threatened that the amount would not be approved unless the bribe was paid.

 

The same senior official is also suspected of having abused his position to influence the outcome of a project selection procedure for the processing of fishery products under the EMFAF 2021–2027. The official allegedly ordered his subordinates to alter a negative evaluation of a project proposal to unlawfully benefit a company that did not meet the required criteria. The project concerned was worth 746 397 euro. 

 

 

The investigation has also uncovered indications of overpricing in another EMFAF-funded project, related to the acquisition of an innovative fish filtration system. The contract value was 1 375 000 euro, several times higher than its estimated market price of 436 697 euro.

 

The official, not named in the EPPO statement, allegedly exceeded his authority to issue a construction permit for a boat parking project in Oryahovo, worth 452 831 euro. The construction permit was issued by a non-competent institution and was allegedly used to trigger a project payment.

 

The investigation started based on an initial report by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

 

All persons concerned are presumed innocent until proven guilty in the competent Bulgarian courts of law, EPPO said.