On the eve of Easter, when charity for the needy is traditionally held in our country, a terrible scheme shone and NOVA told how thousands of levs from donations for sick children do not reach them.
It is a foundation that has existed for more than 20 years. The people who work there, headed by its chairman, live behind the misery of socially disadvantaged families and their children. They raise funds from all over the country. And the version, which has been the same for years, is that the money goes to expensive operations and rehabilitation in a famous Plovdiv hospital. The medical institution categorically denies that this is the case and is ready for a court battle in order to end this vicious practice. Everything about the case is told by Tina Ivaylova and the team of Glas bg.
Severely ill children from all over Bulgaria need operations and treatment to live. However, their families were deceived by the same foundation, which allegedly raised funds for expensive treatment. And the scheme has been worked out for years. We are meeting with former associates of the Social Brotherhood and Charity Foundation, chaired by Angelin Kulinski.
Dimitar Savlakov worked for several months as an associate for the Social Brotherhood and Charity Foundation. He suspected that something was wrong because of the way he worked.
“I had a claim to provide me with a document on the funds we have reported. About how he used them, where he made a donation, for whom and how we raised funds. He always told me, “I’ll give it to you tomorrow. I’ll give it to you the next day. ” I give him the money by hand and I asked him if he had given it to the child we had raised. He told me, “You didn’t give me anything.” He claimed that he gave the money for operations in a famous Plovdiv hospital. I once asked him for a document, what did he pay, how much did it cost? I was flatly denied. And the money is not reported with a document. More than 20 employees mainly rely on this activity “, says Dimitar Savlakov.
Other collaborators also confirmed what he said. They tell how the employees of the foundation collected mainly for children with cerebral palsy children from extremely poor families, socially weak people from places far from Plovdiv. Collect with boxes and folders in different cities, in different places. They use market days when a lot of people gather.
“When I was there, he used to gather for several children at the same time. Accordingly, the child, which is shown en masse for more than a few months, the brochure is changed. For me personally, these mothers did not know because they had no contract. It’s just that the photo itself has been preserved and is being speculated and circulated, “said a woman who worked as an associate at the foundation where we hide our identity.
And the child who is currently being shown en masse is Nasko Radev from Dimitrovgrad. He has cerebral palsy. The Kulinski Foundation has been raising money for him for several years. We are filming several collaborators in different cities to raise money for Nasko. And the child’s relatives think that the money goes to expensive surgeries and rehabilitation.
We understand that over the years, businessmen and companies have also donated large sums to the foundation to help sick children.
We meet the people for whom the Angelin Kulinski Foundation has raised funds over the years. To date, in addition to Nasko Radev from Dimitrovgrad, the collaborators are collecting donations for Bozhidara from Moesia. It is clear that the child’s parents do not know that the campaign continues. They themselves asked Kulinski to stop raising funds because they were suspicious.
We see that their contract with the Kulinski Foundation does not specify from which to which date it is.
“He said he had an account in the child’s name, but he never showed it to me. He assured us that he was preparing the documents for France so that he could send them. He promised that he would prepare everything, we would go to a scanner there and an MRI. He will fix the documents, bring what he needs there and send them to France. That’s why he collects money. And he started lying to us. We call to ask. We sent one referral, another for a scanner and nothing, ”the father recalled.
The family traveled three times to Plovdiv, where Kulinski accommodated them to spend the night in a hotel with a dubious reputation. A few months ago, Kulinsky sent them medicine for their daughter. He explained that it was difficult to find them through a friend from Belgium.
We checked. These are medicines that are available in every pharmacy and cost BGN 20.
The staff of the Social Brotherhood and Mercy Foundation still collects money with the photo of Bozhidara.
The same procedure was used to raise funds for the treatment of Ivena from Kaspichan. Until one day the parents filed a complaint against Angelin Kulinski.
“We have filed a complaint. Then we were interrogated in Shumen, in Novi Pazar and in Plovdiv. For the year he had to collect, he paid us for a hotel in Plovdiv when we went for operations and rehabilitation. Doubtful hotel, whether they were engaged in prostitution, or what… I don’t want to remember “, says Ivena’s mother Dobromira Hristova.
The scheme is the same for Bozhidar from Belovo. Peter and Maria Paunkovi quickly remembered that they were taking advantage of their situation and terminated the contract with Angelin Kulinski.
We understand that the money raised by the Social Brotherhood and Charity Foundation is always for the same purpose: for operations and rehabilitation at the Medline Hospital in Plovdiv. However, it is clear that the owner of the hospital and the doctor who performs these operations do not know that they are paid. They understand from our team. They don’t know Angel Kulinski either.
“4-5 years ago, I found on our Main Street such a foundation that collected money and demanded money from me. Some women with some boxes, with some folders and tore some tickets, like an amusement park. I submitted a signal to the prosecutor’s office, to the District Prosecutor’s Office – Plovdiv. They called me. I explained, they couldn’t gather evidence and so things sank, “explained Assoc. Prof. Dr. Neven Enchev von Goldenburg, owner of the hospital. He stressed that this type of surgery and rehabilitation are in clinical pathways and are completely free. He is adamant that he will file a lawsuit to tarnish the prestige of the medical institution and will seek his rights in court.
The hospital not only does not take money for operations as in the case of Nasko, Ivena, Bozhidara and Bozhidar, but also helps financially to parents who do not have the opportunity, explained Dr. Yanaki Yanakiev. It is he who performs the operations on sick children. It is known throughout the country as a luminary of orthopedics and traumatology.
“We treat children here completely free of charge. All the people who have been treated by me know that I give them implants. To those who do not have funds, we give them as gifts. It has happened many times that we pay for the travel expenses or give money to buy an orthosis or for some other fees that have to be covered, which we give by hand. These are small things. Many people do not have funds for implants. And they are expensive implants, you have to legally pay for them out of pocket. We have not authorized any foundation or governmental or non-governmental organization to raise funds or bring us funds. I have to tell you that I came here from those who go around for money. It has happened several times that they have asked me for money for myself “, explained the orthopedist Dr. Yanaki Yanakiev.
As it became clear, the Social Brotherhood and Charity Foundation was established in 1993. It was registered in 2002 in the registers of the Ministry of Justice and was re-registered with the Registry Agency in January this year. The last financial report we open is from 2016.
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