/ world today news/ 2016 turned out to be a historic year for the Bulgarian energy industry. For two reasons. The first – the state paid BGN 2.5 billion to the two great powers – Russia and the United States of America – for the equipment of the unrealized Belene NPP and the accumulated debts to the so-called “American thermal power plants”. The second – for the first time, the prosecutor’s office brought charges against as many as four former energy ministers – Rumen Ovcharov, Petar Dimitrov, Delyan Dobrev, Traicho Traikov.
Taking advantage of the political impasse and the lack of parliamentary oversight, the independent Energy and Water Regulatory Commission allowed a shocking 29.64% increase in the price of gas from April 1st, which will automatically lead to a serious increase in the price of food products, services and undoubtedly lead to to burdening the budget of the poorest Bulgarians, who continue to accumulate debts or go into debt to racketeers in order to cover their electricity and heating bills (if they have them at all). In addition to gas, KEVR increased the price of heating, electricity and water for 1.5 million residents of Sofia – by a record 18%.
On April 11, the Supreme Administrative Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had launched an investigation into the reasons that led to the increase in the price of water, which KEVR approved at the request of the concessionaire “Sofijska Voda”. Even then it was clear that the activity of the prosecutor’s office would not be accepted by the parent company of Sofia Water – the French company Veolia. Reactions were not late, indirectly. Through non-governmental institutes, with the media assistance of the commissioned editions of the oligarchic circle “Capital” (whose publisher Ivo Prokopiev, in addition to financing the GMO-project “Yes, Bulgaria” is also a defendant – note, ed.) attacked the state accusation that he deals with the price of water, which was populist. However, these same media-clubs forgot to recall that at the end of 2015, while the backstage in our country wanted the resignation of the chief prosecutor, one of the bosses of “Sofia Voda” – Bruno Roche – was investigated in Romania. The case was suppressed to such an extent that even the “fighter” against corruption – the then French ambassador in Sofia, Xavier Lapert de Caban, failed to comment on it, and “Veolia” simply replaced its corrupt employee.
On April 11th, Deputy Prosecutor General Asya Petrova announced something else – the state prosecution is also investigating the increase in the price of “blue fuel”. The reaction to the decision of the prosecutor’s office to dig into the decisions of the KEVR was not long in coming. A “clay” affair was fabricated, in which Sasho Donchev, executive director of “Overgaz” was directly interested in the increase in gas prices.
The video of Donchev’s “working” lunch with “business” ladies, the hairstyles of each of whom is as much as a pensioner’s pension, and the invested in cosmetics and surgical beautification as much as a studio apartment in “Lyulin”, in which the gas baron makes himself a “victim” of the chief prosecutor, turned out to be only the beginning of another attack to control the prosecutor’s office and subjugate it by hitherto untouchable oligarchs. Completely expected, Donchev’s words were immediately taken advantage of by the puppets of the “Yes, Bulgaria” oligarchy that failed in the elections. Once again, Hristo Ivanov, but this time also as party leader, did not fail to demand the resignation of accuser No. 1.
The expected clarification of details by Sasho Donchev himself followed. In an interview with the court “journalist” of Hristo Ivanov – Polina Paunova on “BiT” TV, with whom Donchev claims that he has nothing to do, although since its creation, its head there has been his long-time PR Neri Terzieva. Sasho Donchev explained that his meeting with Tsatsarov was on March 21. He shared about her with colleagues and friends the same day. He confided about the outrageous conversation with Sotir Tsatsarov and Sasho Dikov, and on March 30 with the business ladies. He didn’t do anything, because actually the chief prosecutor didn’t ask him for anything, they just talked. And so until April 19, when the video got into the oligarchy media. It was only on April 20 that Sasho Donchev “remembered” that in fact the chief prosecutor had told him that his conversations were being monitored, so he decided to request a check from the Bureau for the Control of Special Intelligence Means. A month later!
Sasho Donchev also explained that he has nothing to do with Hristo Ivanov and the “Yes, Bulgaria” party, but he supported him in the request for Tsatsarov’s resignation. Well, he did not support “Yes, Bulgaria” as a businessman, because he “did not finance parties”, but he did not see anything wrong with Ivo Prokopiev financing Hristo Ivanov.
Sasho Donchev also explained that there was nothing wrong in the conversation with Tsatsarov, because he had held similar conversations with many politicians, presidents, ministers, prime ministers, deputies, businessmen, etc., but he never sought them for favors, but always they were looking for him. In fact, there was “one exception” and that was when Sasho Donchev requested a meeting with… the chief prosecutor. In September 2014, Donchev requested a meeting with Tsatsarov, in his capacity as chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, because of the bankruptcy of KTB. Even then, Donchev manipulated facts from the conversations. After the end of the talks, which were also attended by trade unionists, Donchev made a comment to the media, which was later refuted.
Sasho Donchev did not admit that the host of the meeting, the businessman Georgi Gergov, had invited him for a conversation and only then did the two of them send an invitation to the chief prosecutor. Donchev failed to specify that he, not Tsatsarov, was interested in the meeting in question because of a letter from the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office, which obviously worried him. A letter that reveals 200,000,000 euros of reasons for Sasho Donchev to attack Sotir Tsatsarov.
It turns out that after being referred by the Bulgarian Energy Holding in mid-January, the prosecutor’s office started an investigation into the actions of “Overgas Inc” AD against the interests of the state. It becomes clear that the report against Donchev states that his actions create: “risks for the supply of natural gas and destabilization of the gas market in the country, as well as endangering the financial and economic security of the energy companies”. “With his actions, Sasho Donchev created conditions for deliberately disrupting the functions of the only licensed company for the public supply of natural gas – Bulgartransgaz EAD, the activities of the independent transmission gas operator – Bulgartransgaz EAD, as well as individual businesses and protected consumers of natural gas. In this way, the executive director of “Overgas Inc” AD deliberately aims to create difficulties for the executive power and in particular for the Ministry of Energy – executor of the government program in the field of natural gas and principal of “Bulgarian Energy Holding” EAD, owner of both companies”, reads the report to the prosecutor’s office against Donchev.
Donchev explained that it was correct that Bulgaria should have been fined 200 million euros because of his interest, but failed to emphasize the fact that he was carrying the letter from the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office, which he gave to Sotir Tsatsarov. And since, obviously, he did not meet with an “understanding”, but on the contrary – a refusal, a month after the meeting, when he already had an inkling of what the subsequent actions of the prosecutor’s office could be, Sasho Donchev went out and “va bank” attacked accuser No. 1.
In this case, Donchev also attacks the next government, which will face a liability of 200 million euros at its start.
A revelation of Sasho Donchev seems to show where the cap is holding him. It was a mistake that the state had “cut off” the intermediaries in the purchase of “blue fuel” from Russia. This had “deteriorated” the market, and he dreamed of a “free” gas market in Bulgaria, and it seems that if he can, he will keep his tap.
#shadow #energy #dependence #political #timelessness
