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A cartel has siphoned off food procurement for the poor for at least 5 years while GERB has been in power.

The Bulgarian institutions show complete disregard for the signals of the audit bodies, regardless of the fact that in Bulgaria, as a result of Borisov's administration, there are 1.5 million people below the poverty line, the press center of "We continue the change" reported

Kiril Petkov and Asen Vassilev presented their political project "We continue the change".

The case concerns the "Food" Operational Program from the Fund for European Assistance to the Most Needy Persons, and after the silence of the CPC and the Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office, in July the Ministry of Finance in the "Petkov" office referred the matter to the European Prosecutor's Office.

This case is another proof of why the reform of the Anti-corruption Commission is needed, laid down in the program of "Continuing the change

Kiril Petkov and Asen Vasilev presented their political project "We continue the change" - so that this body can finally investigate the corrupt. 

How European funds illegally reached law firms

How are violations detected?

The Social Assistance Agency (ASP) manages the operational program "Food and/or basic material assistance" 2014-2020, which is financed by the Fund for European Assistance to the Most Needy Persons.

Euro funds under this program are used to buy food for the poorest people in the country.

In June, the government of “We continue the change

Kiril Petkov and Asen Vassilev presented their political project "We continue the change"" tasked the new management of the Executive Agency "Audit of European Union Funds" (OSSE) - already removed by the current caretaker government - to check a report of suspicions of a cartel between participants in the orders.

Suspicious practices have also been identified during previous inspections.

But the signals to the CPC, led by GERB cadres, and to the prosecutor's office, headed by Ivan Geshev, were bypassed with formal opinions that there were no violations.

What did the examiners find?

An April 2020 OSCE audit of a 2017 public procurement with 17 food supply items found facts that raise suspicions of collusion between the participants and fraud with the aim of distorting competition:

- The same management addresses of those participating in the public procurement;

- Withdrawal of bids after their opening and refusal to conclude a contract for the public procurement by a participant ranked first;

- Hiring unsuccessful bidders as subcontractors for the contract.

Based on the findings of this inspection, the Governing Body of the "Food" Operational Program ruled that they were "incorrect and unfounded", and the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office, headed by Ivan Geshev, refused to initiate pre-trial proceedings with the argument that "there was no breach of obligations or of violation thereof' by the governing body of the program.

Similar violations were also found during an audit in 2021 of a food order from 2018. Then the results of other orders were analyzed - from 2016, 2017, two from 2018 and one from 2019. Among the findings are:

- Withdrawal of offers and refusal to conclude contracts;

- Conclusion of a contract with a contractor with the highest price offer;

- The contractor is the same or the same companies alternate;

- The withdrawn offers are from companies from the same circle of economic operators;

and other.

How does the cartel work so that meatballs for the poor can be bought for BGN 1.88 instead of BGN 1?

The ranking criterion is the lowest bid price.

After the bids are opened, the companies with the low prices give up - so that only the one with the highest remains.

As a result, in the 2018 procurement, 15 out of all 16 food supply contracts were awarded at the highest bid price.

A striking example is that in one of the positions for the delivery of canned beef meatballs in white sauce, with the lowest offer of BGN 1 per can, the participant with the highest price of BGN 1.88 wins.

The cartel agreement also shows through the fact that the contractors are the same.

Out of a total of 80 contracts concluded during procurement from 2016 to 2019, "Vaklinov" EOOD won 25 contracts or 31% of all, "Bib Foods" EOOD fulfilled 13.7% of the orders, and "Panda IP" EOOD - 16%.

Thus, only three companies receive 61% of the contracts.

There is also a regularity in the items - "Vaklinov" takes 5 contracts for meatballs in white sauce and 3 for herring in tomato sauce, "Bib Foods" specializes in the supply of canned chicken fricassee and beef in its own sauce with 3 contracts each, and " "Panda" is for lutenice and green peas with 4 contracts each for both items.

"Kali 98" has delivered green beans under 4 contracts, the same number of contracts with "Maritsa Ecofroze" for sterilized casserole.

It is also striking that after 8 refusals by Bib Foods to conclude a contract, such a contract was "surprisingly" concluded with Vaklinov, and vice versa - with three refusals by Vaklinov, the contracts went to Bib Foods.

Both companies take orders at the highest price.

An agreement between the two companies does not seem difficult, since "Bib Foods" and the owner of "Vaklinov" ANIMA GROUP are registered at the same address. 

Petkov and Vassilev revealed one of the most vicious schemes in the management of GERB

The silence of the CPC

For 5 years, the managing body of OP "Food" has turned a blind eye to the repeated pattern of withdrawing offers and refusing to conclude contracts established by the auditors.

It was only in March 2021 that ASP notified the CPC with a warning about possible cartel agreements.

The CPC, under the leadership of a relative of the GERB MP Alexander Nenkov, came to the conclusion that "after a careful review of the report, no allegations or indications related to auction manipulations were found."

A glimmer of hope for unraveling the long-standing scheme comes from the fact that the findings of the Bulgarian audit authority on the 2017 Food for the Poor order were confirmed by the European Court of Auditors during a mission in 2020 and are the subject of an investigation by the anti-corruption service. financial violations of the European Union - OLAF.

On October 2, the choice is to go back to the failed transition policy that turns a blind eye to such schemes, or to continue the change by reforming the Anti-Corruption Commission so that it finally prosecutes the corrupt!

We continue the change

misuse of euro funds