“Bulgargaz” is bankrupt, only the long-term contract for Azerbaijani gas saves it. However, the share of the state-owned enterprise is drastically decreasing due to its inadequate management and possible corruption schemes. The contract with the Turkish company “Botash” is only an episode of the debacle of the Bulgarian energy sector. The puppeteers of this destruction and the institutions subordinate to them are thought to be very cunning and untouchable, but they cannot hide from the European Prosecutor’s Office”. This is what Alexander Nikolov, former Minister of Energy, commented in the program (O)position.
He revealed that there were drastic violations surrounding the signing of the deal with “Botash” under the interim government of Galab Donev. The reconciliation in the IC was done retroactively, after the signing of the contract – the services must investigate how documents are reconciled after the fact. Nine of the ministers did not participate in these “procedures” at all, including the then Minister of Finance Rositsa Velkova. “Because she has been dealing with public finances for 20 years and was aware of how far this contract could lead,” Nikolov explained, according to whom it is madness for an official cabinet with a short term to sign a contract for 13 years.
The former energy minister explained why this deal harms the Bulgarian country with billions and how “Bulgargaz” pays 1 million per day without receiving anything: “Apparently no comparisons were made – what is the price for other customers of “Botash”, what fees are paid elsewhere. According to the contract with “Botash”, “Bulgargaz” pays more than 9 euros per megawatt hour – with only 4.50 euros for deliveries through Greece when the fees are too high, the contract becomes unusable” (it is significant that from the beginning of 2023, with the possibility of 14 tankers per year with liquefied gas, we have so far imported only one and a half tankers, note ed.).
The contract was signed on January 3, 2023 – with fanfare, which means that in the report of “Bulgargaz” as of July of the same year, very good financial results should be visible. Instead, there we see BGN 68 million “costs for external services” – these are actually disguised payments to “Botash”.
What is worse is that the auditor who checked the financial report of “Bulgargaz” signed it with a special opinion – he states that the company is in violation of Art. 252 of the Commercial Law and that it cannot continue to function as a commercial enterprise.
“Our services and their puppeteers think that they are uniquely cunning and untouchable. But Bulgaria is part of the European gas market and corrupt practices in Bulgaria do not go unnoticed. When our services and judiciary do not do their job, the European ones will come, he is convinced Nikolov. The report of the parliamentary inquiry commission on the deal with “Botash” went to the European Prosecutor’s Office, and the EC is already checking the contract.
More on the topic – in the video.
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Tags: Backdated documents fabricated deal Botash
