The state takes the “golden goal” from the private company of “Captain Andreevo”, but for BGN 12 million. – 2024-05-01 07:06:10

The state takes the so-called “golden goal”, i.e. the disinfection of vehicles entering from Turkey through the “Capitan Andreevo” checkpoint, but against BGN 12 million compensation for the private company. This is clear from a decree of the government of Dimitar Glavchev promulgated on April 26. In his last days, the office of Nikolay Denkov concluded an out-of-court agreement with another private company on the same border – “Eurolab 2011” for BGN 10 million, with which he finally got back the premises where the private laboratory was located.

Why and to whom is BGN 12 million given?

The decree directly states that they are approved “additional costs in the amount of BGN 12,000,000. according to the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food for 2024. for an out-of-court settlement for the termination of Contract No. 9 of March 12, 2013 for the assignment by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency to carrying out the activity of carrying out disinfection of the vehicles entering the country from the Republic of Turkey to a private company and taking over the activity by the state“.

It is about the famous contract with the company “PFC”, which was signed on the last day of the first government of Boyko Borisov in 2013. An investigation by the Anti-Corruption Fund and the journalist Genka Shikerova as early as 2019 came to the conclusion that over the past 5 years the company “PiFC” EOOD has earned BGN 27 million after illegally awarding a public activity for the disinfection of the border with Turkey by the Bulgarian Agency for Food Safety.

The company “PFC” was established five days before the signing of the contract, without any experience and capacity for disinfection, but from the very first moment it began to generate wonderful profits. Investigations on the BIRD website showed potential links of the company to Razmig Chakaryan – Ami.

After signing the contract in 2013, in the first year the profit was BGN 1.3 million. After five years, the profit increases to BGN 8.7 million per year. In total, for the last five years, the profit is nearly BGN 27 million

The company’s operating expenses are 10 times lower than its revenues. The problem is that the company collects a fee at the border with Turkey, which by law can only be collected by a public authority. Fees should break even, and this is not because a large profit is generated. It is also not clear why a fee should be paid for such a service at all.

Although the contract with the company officially expired on March 12, 2023, in reality the state terminated its disinfection work earlier and legal disputes began, which are now apparently ending with an out-of-court settlement.

Another BGN 10 million was given to return the laboratory

At the end of the mandate of the government of Nikolay Denkov, BGN 10 million were also allocated for an out-of-court settlement with the private company Eurolab 2011.

“In return for BGN 10 million, the existing laboratory of Kapitan Andreevo, where Eurolab 2011 worked, will pass into the hands of the state, and no one there except the state will control fruits, vegetables and food for human consumption.”, said the former Minister of Agriculture Kiril Vatev. In comparison, he pointed out that in the case of a possible unilateral termination by BFSA, fines should be paid in a significantly larger amount and lengthy court processes should be conducted.

Then the minister specified that the license is transferred to the Food Agency and the laboratory capacity of the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing becomes such that there will be almost no line of trucks there. One sample will be made for the time from 30 minutes to 6 hours. This will also be the time for samples at the second laboratory, where the BABH will work.

Before May 20, 2022, the monopoly on this profitable business was granted with a 10-year lease, first to the private company “Interpred Eurologistic”, represented by Razmig Kerope Chakaryan, known as “Ami”. The contract expired at the end of last year.

In 2022, the company in question was replaced by the aforementioned “Eurolab 2011”. Its owner is Vasil Dimitrov, but a check of the BIRD site revealed links to a past Interpol wanted for involvement in organized crime, Christophoros Amanatidis-Taki.