Mayor of Batak Accused of Awarding Public Procurement Contracts to His Son

The Mayor of South Bulgarian town of Batak, Petar Paunov, has been accused of illegal actions over changing the ownership of a state property into a municipal and its subsequent sale. In addition, the mayor has allegedly awarded public procurement contracts to his son's company to the amount of BGN 580,000.

At a meeting on 3^rd of November the municipal councilors of the main ruling party GERB will submit a request for the removal of the mayor from his post.

Atanas Kolarov, municipal councilor from the main ruling party GERB said that municipal councilors in Batak decided to demand the resignation of Mayor Petar Paunov. The reason is undermining the prestige and reputation of the municipality. The decision comes after revelations that the mayor has awarded public procurement to the amount of BGN 580,000 to his son's company, and that the ownership of a property near Batak Dam was illegally changed from stae to municipal and the property was subsequently sold. The request for resignation will be filed with the city council, Kolarov added.

The accusation against Paunov is that he sold 100 decares of property owned by the state. He has transformed it into private-municipal and sold it to a third party for BGN 2,400. He has been accused of having awarded his son's company with large public contracts that he has executed through his company or through “fronts”. However, these allegations have not yet been proven and the investigation is pending.

The District Prosecutor's Office said thjat if found guilty, the mayor may face 1-8 years of imprisonment.

The municipal council meeting will be held at 16:00.