Bulgaria's Haskovo DA Launches Luxury Real Estate Probe

The gate of a house in the so-called "Customs Agents Village" on the shore of the Ivaylovgrad dam in southern Bulgaria. The sign says: "Ministry of Fun." Photo by DarikNews.

The Regional Prosecutor's Office in the southern city of Haskovo has launched its own probe of the illegal luxury villa complex on the banks of the Ivaylovgrad dam.

The vacation village Stavri Dimovo is better know by its nickname – The Customs Agents Village over the luxury mansion properties belonging to people from Sofia and the southeastern border town of Svilengrad, who are mostly senior civil servants such as Customs agents, traffic cops as well as businessmen.

The village made headlines last week when employees of the National Revenue Agency flew in a helicopter over the properties, built illegally on State lands on the dam's shore, and took pictures of the sprawling real estate.

On Monday, the Construction Control Directorate sent inspectors to begin investigating the properties. The inspectors are guarded by the police.

The Prosecutor monitoring the probe, told Darik radio Tuesday that the goal is to find out who are the people from the local administration who issued illegal building permits and how illegal villas have been connected to the plumbing and sewage system, adding this is the very first probe of Regional Prosecutor's Office in Stavri Dimovo.

Rumen Danev, Governor of the Haskovo Region, has ordered a probe as well.

The Committee investigating how the buildings have been connected to the electric power and water supply networks include representatives of the National Electric Company, the Waters Management Directorate, the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Waters, the Construction Control Directorate, local administration and municipalities.

The probe is scheduled to be completed by October 18.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!