The mayor of a Bulgarian town has been arrested in an investigation into an alleged fraud involving EU funds meant for a project to increase energy efficiency in multifamily residential buildings, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office said.
Valentin Dimitrov, mayor of the town General Toshevo in northeastern Bulgaria, was arrested on August 9 at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. The Interior Ministry confirmed the arrest to RFE/RL.
Dimitrov has been under investigation for fraud involving subsidies from the European Union for the housing energy efficiency project, the European Public Prosecutor's Office said in a news release. The alleged violations took place in 2017-19.
General Toshevo received a grant from the EU to fund the project in the amount of 169,000 euros ($185,000), according to the prosecutor's office. The project was designated to a private contractor.
According to the evidence collected, officials involved in the project, including the mayor, presented false information about the implementation of the work, which had not been completed on time, the prosecutor’s office said.
The arrest of Dimitrov is the first in Bulgaria at the request of European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kovesi’s office.
Kovesi said in March 2022 after a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov that her office had received a record number of reports of misuse of EU funds in Bulgaria. Based on the reports, the prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into more than 120 cases.
Dimitrov, first elected in 2015 and reelected in 2019, is a representative of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, formerly the Communist Party. The pro-Russian party is in the opposition in the Bulgarian parliament.
Searches were also carried out on August 9, including the offices of officials suspected of complicity in the crimes under investigation. Several witnesses and suspects have yet to be questioned.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is an independent public service of the EU. The office is responsible for investigating and prosecuting perpetrators of crimes against the EU's financial interests.