Bulgarian prosecutors file lawsuit against former Sofia deputy mayor
Bulgaria’s prosecutor’s office said on June 21 that it formally filed the lawsuit against former Sofia deputy mayor for transport Evgeni Krousev, who is charged with malfeasance in office, which caused damages of about 920 000 leva to the Sofia city hall.
Krousev is accused of deliberately breaching public procurement laws in making major changes to the Graf Ignatiev Street repairs project in the Bulgarian capital city.
The amount of damages cited by prosecutors, however, is significantly lower than the five million leva cited in December, when the prosecutor’s office estimated the figure as up to five million leva.
The prosecutor’s office began its investigation in October, shortly after being receiving a tip-off from the Spasi Sofia non-governmental organisation, which alleged that the contract changes were made with the project underway.
The claim was that the project was amended to use a particular vibration-dampening material even though at the tender stage one bidder was disqualified for offering to use that exact material.
Krousev defended his actions last week saying that he was acting in the city hall’s interests and never took single-handed decisions, acting on expert recommendations – though that would not explain why his office failed to observe public procurement rules.
(Krousev, interviewed by Bulgarian National Television in November 2018 against the background of the ongoing repairs on Graf Ignatiev Street. Screengrab from Bulgarian National Television.)
