Despite resistance from the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of the Interior and the security services will exercise their powers even more firmly in exposing large-scale political corruption that has emptied the state coffers and led to decline and poverty, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said at the start of the government meeting on July 29.
His remarks were prompted by the Prosecutor’s Office’s decision to transfer the case against the director and employees of the Burgas Water and Sewerage Company from Sofia back to Burgas, even though, according to the defendants’ testimony, individuals with immunity are involved in the case.
The Prime Minister opened his address to ministers by calling for greater justice across all areas of public and political life. He also said that the government had drafted emergency legislation to prevent sanctions against the Burgas refinery following the Constitutional Court's ruling concerning Lukoil. Radev also commented on the construction and future of the new children's hospital.
The Director of Burgas Water Utility Has Been Detained
According to Radev, the more actively the Ministry of Interior and the security services carry out their work, the more the Prosecutor's Office obstructs their efforts.
The Prime Minister expressed bewilderment both at the decision to return the case to Burgas and at the mass recusal of prosecutors in the city from handling the case.
Police previously entered the premises of Burgas Water and Sewerage Company following reports of alleged misconduct in public office.
Rumen Radev, Prime Minister: "At the beginning of the month, police arrested employees of Burgas Water and Sewerage Company, including its Chief Executive Officer. During the interrogations, a number of significant admissions emerged regarding abuse on a massive scale. We are talking about hundreds of millions of leva that were allegedly channelled into party coffers and, more importantly, to nationally known public figures. This is where matters become truly significant, because it presents a serious opportunity to begin unravelling large-scale political corruption. Quite rightly, the Interior Ministry, acting in accordance with the law, referred the case to the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office because some of the individuals named enjoy parliamentary immunity. And that is where the problems began. Once it became clear that such individuals were involved, following delays and consultations at the highest level, the decision was taken to send the case back to the Burgas Prosecutor's Office. Yet it was transferred in such a way that the case file took an entire week to travel from Sofia to Burgas."
Radev added that the developments had resulted in Burgas Water and Sewerage Company employees, who were allegedly under pressure from the same nationally known public figures, becoming hesitant and beginning to retract their original statements after perceiving what he described as the prosecution's tacit support for suppressing the case.
Rumen Radev, Prime Minister: "Such a sabotage of justice can only be carried out by people who are either deeply frightened or heavily dependent. And I do not want to believe that this is the face of the Bulgarian prosecution service, from its highest to its lowest level. All of this is happening on the eve of the election of a new Supreme Judicial Council. That election must demonstrate whether the judiciary is prepared to free itself from the dependencies of the past. That is why we have made it clear that there will be no compromise on the professional or moral qualities of candidates for senior positions within the judiciary. This election must serve society and justice, not party interests."
The Prime Minister also promised to provide further details, aftr the end of the cabinet meeeting, on corruption schemes that had been prevented.
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