MP Kosta Stoyanov of “Vazrazhdane” on September 2 launched sharp criticism of the authorities in a statement from the parliamentary rostrum of the National Assembly, marking one year of institutional inaction over what he described as Bulgaria’s biggest corruption scheme, known as “Baba Alino”.
“One year is a sufficiently long period for us to take stock not only of the work of the prosecution service and state and municipal institutions, but also of the conduct of those who held or hold the highest positions in the state, and of those who want to hold them today. We are now entering a presidential campaign and hearing many words about statehood, the rule of law, the national interest and responsibility. That is why I want to ask what the current president, Iliana Iotova, has done in the ‘Baba Alino’ case, what presidential candidate Andrey Gyurov has done, and what Rumen Radev has accomplished during his nearly 10 years in the highest positions in the state, as president and current prime minister. The answer is unequivocal – nothing! Because you cannot talk about statehood only when you are standing on an election campaign platform. Statehood is demonstrated when Bulgaria’s laws have been violated, when institutions are not acting quickly enough and when someone has to take political responsibility for setting the machinery of the state in motion.”
He said that over the course of a year there had been no action or response corresponding to the responsibilities of the authorities and institutions, despite the scale of the scandal.
“And the scale is enormous. We are talking about 104 illegal structures. Of these 104 structures, after one year orders for their removal have been issued for only 12, while acts establishing illegal construction have been issued and served for only 22. For only five of the sites have orders been issued banning access and cutting off electricity and water supplies. This is the result after one year, and it is the result of the active intervention of ‘Vazrazhdane’, through its representatives on Varna Municipal Council and in the National Assembly,” Kosta Stoyanov said at the beginning of his statement.
He recalled that, from the outset, his political party had argued that the abuses, lack of action and attempts to cover up and establish falsifications in “Baba Alino” showed that this was not simply illegal construction carried out by a single investor, but evidence of an entire chain of people linked to the corruption scandal. These included municipal and state officials, officials from the cadastral service and licensed technical professionals, lawyers, notaries and even politicians – MPs whose actions or inaction had allowed the scheme to operate.
"The issue regarding the prosecutor’s office is particularly serious. ‘Vazrazhdane’ filed a report a year ago, and to this day we have received no response that would give us a clear picture of what exactly has been done and what result the prosecution service has reached. We hear that pre-trial proceedings have been opened, but one year after the beginning of this scandal, the public still does not know who will be held responsible for what happened,” Kosta Stoyanov also said, recalling that the institutions could not claim they had no information, as the case had been discussed by the parliamentary committee overseeing the security services.
“According to the information available to us, the actions of the Ukrainian group KYB were also described in reports by SANS. These reports reach the highest levels of the state. They are received by the president, the prime minister and the Speaker of the National Assembly. So today, no one holding the highest state office can say: ‘I didn’t know.’ You knew. But you did nothing!” Kosta Stoyanov of “Vazrazhdane” also said, adding categorically: “You cannot claim to be a defender of statehood if you remain silent over a case in which the Bulgarian state itself has been unable to enforce its own laws for a year.”
The MP recalled an incident in which a Ukrainian citizen told a police officer that there were no laws in Bulgaria, as well as an incident the previous day when the water utility had been unable to cut off the water supply in “Baba Alino” after being obstructed by Ukrainian citizens. He again stated categorically that those responsible for allowing the large-scale corruption scheme to operate must be identified, held accountable and never again allowed to hold public office.
He also raised a number of important questions, stressing that the answers were significant for people who had bought properties in “Baba Alino” and invested huge sums of money, for which they could bring legal claims: Is there a protective shield over the Ukrainian group KYB and Oleg Nevzorov and, if so, where does it come from? Why, despite so many established facts and such serious questions, is this person still free to operate in Bulgaria? Why are new companies being established and old ones being rebranded while the state continues to move at the pace of administrative procedures?
“We want the orders that have been issued to be enforced, the procedures for removing the illegal structures to be brought to completion, and the prosecution service to establish whether crimes have been committed and by whom, with anyone found guilty by a court held liable as provided by law. And if the investigation establishes that there was political or institutional protection over this scheme, the public must learn who provided it, regardless of how high up in the state that person is. ‘Vazrazhdane’ has specific proposals. Cut off the electricity, cut off the water, cut off access to the road network and immediately launch an investigation into the criminals who defrauded hundreds of people. A protocol for action in such cases should be drawn up and a team created to work on this corruption scandal. Everything about this case is clear and action must be taken to prevent similar cases from occurring. If, in just 100 days, a joint team was established with the Turkish state to build the Black Sea Motorway, despite many sections of the route still being unspecified and procedures not having begun, why has nothing been done in the 100 days of this government’s tenure over the ‘Baba Alino’ case, when absolutely everything there is clear?”
“One year after ‘Baba Alino’ was made public, there can no longer be any excuse based on a lack of information, lack of time or lack of powers. Everyone knows what happened. All the competent institutions are aware of the case. The time for findings is long past. Now is the time for accountability. Because after one year, the question is no longer whether the state knows. The state knows. The question is why it is not acting,” Kosta Stoyanov of “Vazrazhdane” said in conclusion.
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