And 3 years ago there were similar actions, which apparently did not solve the problems of Delyan Peevski and the Bobokov brothers
PP “We continue the change” entered into a contract with lobbyists from Manatos&Manatos (M&M) worth $100,000, in which contract it is written that “the services the party will receive in return are related to lobbying, public relations, economic development and others”, and its purpose is to “encourage leading American politicians who are part of the federal and state governments and the US Congress to strengthen bilateral relations between the USA and Bulgaria”, as well as “a better understanding and appreciation of the primary importance of Bulgaria to the USA, specifically its pro-Western actions and anti-corruption efforts”. This became clear after its co-chairman Asen Vassilev was asked about the contract. Shortly before we learned this news in Bulgaria, it was announced on the website of the American Department of Justice.
Although fully legally regulated in the USA, in Bulgaria lobbying is not so well known and is rather associated with the desire of someone to polish his image, because due to various mistakes and incorrect policies, people do not trust him.
Koi sa Manatos & Manatos (M&M)?
M&M was founded in 1983 by Andrew Manatos and his father, Mike, and before founding the company, the father worked in the administrations of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, and his son for Johnson and Jimmy Carter. The company is also associated with the Democratic Party, the son’s name is also associated with fundraising for Hillary Clinton’s campaigns.
The first problem with M&M is that it is a lobbying firm that was also hired by VTB Capital, Inc., a subsidiary of VTB Group – a financial services provider – and one of Russia’s two largest banks (“Vneshtorgbank” ) with over 60 percent ownership by the Russian government. That is, Putin’s bank…
The same bank was also one of those sanctioned by the European Union after the start of the war in Ukraine, because it was revealed that the institution financed the private military security organization “Convoy” located in the annexed peninsula of Crimea.
Here we can’t help but ask ourselves, isn’t it a pathological manifestation of a party that claims to be against the policies of Russia, in particular – of Putin, to hire lobbyists who have promoted the interests and goals of the aforementioned?
But we also come to something else – the owners of the already mentioned Russian bank financed the campaign of the American senator Bob Menendez, who was accused of corruption and who these days got more accusations of accepting bribes in the amount of tens of thousands of dollars to help of the Government of Qatar. According to the original indictment, Menendez also used his position to favor foreign governments in exchange for bribes in the form of vast amounts of gold and thousands of dollars.
Incidentally, although little known, VTB Capital were also partners in the bankrupt Corporate Commercial Bank (KTB).
Is it a coincidence that out of hundreds of lobbying firms in the US, PP chose one of those that are connected in one way or another to Russia? If we have to be honest, it may also be due to stupidity – neither the PP, nor their PRs, nor a large part of the party members, are famous for being particularly (sensible).
Who’s paying?
It’s definitely a major issue. It is probably with money from the state subsidy, which, however, will be a serious problem, because the law expressly forbids money for the parties to be given to foreign legal entities or individuals. And although the press center of the PP indicates that “the contract was concluded transparently, with all legal frameworks in Bulgaria and the USA being respected”, nothing is mentioned about the amount of almost BGN 200,000, half of which has already been paid to the lobbying firm.
And let’s not forget that the state subsidy of each party comes from the state budget, that is, from our taxes, which requires greater transparency in the actions of the PP, not only the laconic: “the contract is concluded transparently”.
Even more questions will arise if it turns out that the amount does not come from the grant. But as is usual in our latitudes, probably no journalist will be found who will ask Asen Vassilev or Kiril Petkov who exactly pays these 100,000 dollars to allow PP to hire lobbyists.
More meaningful questions
There have been claims that in the case of the PP it is clearly a serious blunder that the party is doing its best to cover up or even worse – an attempt to promote its controversial policy, which, although directed against Russia in words, is often in action exactly the opposite. Starting with the coalition with the BSP, which then led to a refusal to export arms to Ukraine, followed by the coalition with GERB and DPS, some of whose members were sanctioned under the American Magnitsky Act. And Lukoil? And the derogation?
We must not forget that, at least in our country, still, hiring lobbyists really suggests that the person who hired them has some serious problems to solve, and not just wants to get even more support and promote his policies. The alabalisms that the goal is “increasing investments in Bulgaria, strengthening good relations at the state and party level, is an important step for promoting Bulgarian priorities in Washington“, can probably only be accepted as true by a heavily indoctrinated PP supporter.
It is enough to recall the similar actions of Delyan Peevski, who 3 years ago hired another American lobbying company to solve “problems in the USA”, which he clearly did not solve, because only a year later he was sanctioned under the already mentioned “Magnitsky” law . Or the Bobokov brothers, who also hired lobbyists shortly after being indicted for involvement in an organized crime group.
Is the goal not to polish the image in front of Bulgaria’s foreign partners, more specifically in front of the USA, do the PP hope that this way they will look even more pro-Western oriented, which many people probably doubt, even more so after the formation of a government with a main silent leader sanctioned under the aforementioned Global Corruption Act.
2024-01-08 20:52:53
#Asen #Kiril #hiring #lobbyists #USA #country
