Bulgarian Socialist Party lawmaker gives up immunity over Prosecutor General’s request

03/22/16 05:45
(http://www.klassa.bg/)

Bulgarian Socialist Party lawmaker gives up immunity over Prosecutor General’s request

Bulgaria’s Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov filed a request at the National Assembly for waiving the immunity against prosecution of Svetla Bachvarova-Piralkova, MP with the parliamentary group of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) Leftist Bulgaria, the press office of the prosecution announced on Monday.
A pre-court proceeding of Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office collected enough evidence that Svetla Bachvarova-Piralkova, as chairperson of the management board of the Agricultural Academy, has intentionally signed a highly unprofitable deal causing a serious harm to the academy, estimated at BGN 1,326,671.36, a heavy crime under Article 220, Paragraph 2 of the Penal Code.
Svetla Bachvarova-Piralkova was chairperson of the management board of the academy since 04.07.2008 until 28.06.2011.
At an order from 21.05.2009 the minister of agriculture provided the academy with a terrain of agricultural land (around 10,000 decares).
Without a decision of academy’s management board, Svetla Bachvarova-Piralkova, as chairperson, signed a contract for joint scientific-research and experimental-production activity on the terrain in question with Litex Commerce AD.
The contract has a ten-year term. Under the contract Litex Commerce was supposed to pay the academy BGN 17,500 annually, or BGN 1.80 per decare.
During the investigation the experts, however, ascertained that in the same period of time the real price of the agricultural land was of BGN 70 to BGN 80.
Svetla Bachvarova made comments on the Prosecutor General’s request later on Monday.
“The contract over which it is required my immunity is lifted was re-signed two more times,” she said a statement.
In her words, the case dates back to 2010, while she has not been chairperson of the Agricultural Academy since June 2011.
“The matter has been probed and investigated several times since 2011 – this is a period in which I was not a lawmaker and did not enjoy immunity. The matter was probed by the investigative service and the State Agency for National Security (SANS) during the last checks in 2012. I thought the case had been put an end to. I cannot comment on why it has re-surfaced now. But I suppose this could be linked to interests in the land or the forthcoming restructuring of the Academy,” Bachvarova noted.
“The contract is for joint scientific and research and experimental production on this agricultural land – it is not for renting. Such a kind of contracts is usual at the Agricultural Academy and aim at taking the most advantages from the land. The contract was signed between the Dobrudzha Agricultural Academy in General Toshevo and the respective company as the land is located on a territory of the Institute,” the socialist MP stated.
According to her, the most important thing is that the contract is for a joint activity and investments are made by both sides – the Institute provides plant varieties, the company produces them, and the Institute takes the seeds.
Svetla Bachvarova commented the company in question had reported on its activity in the first year.
There were the documents required about everything, at least while she was chairperson, the MP remarked.
She was explicit the contract was in force only for a year while she headed the Academy as chairperson of its management board from 2008 to June 2011.
In her words, there have been four chairpersons at the Agricultural Academy since 2011 but the contract was not terminated.
“Why was it not terminated by my successors if there was a problem?,” Svetla Bachvarova asked.
The BSP press centre announced on Monday evening Ms Bachvarova had given up her immunity, giving Chairperson of the National Assembly Tsetska Tsacheva notification of her move over the Prosecutor General’s request.

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Публикувана на 03/22/16 05:45 http://www.klassa.bg/News/Read/article/265947_Bulgarian+Socialist+Party+lawmaker+gives+up+immunity+over+Prosecutor+General%E2%80%99s+request