Bulgarian Court Exonerates Ex Illegal Assets Agency Head

Todor Kolarov, former head of Bulgaria's Commission for Establishing of Property Acquired from Criminal Activity. Photo by BGNES

Todor Kolarov, the former head of Bulgaria's Commission for Establishing of Property Acquired from Criminal Activity, has been exonerated of conflict of interests by the Sofia Administrative Court.

Kolarov was found guilty of the above by the Commission for Prevention of Conflict of Interest on grounds that upon resigning in February 2012, he bought the cell phone and the laptop he had used at work at the exact same prices they were acquired for by his institution.

Now-former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov accepted the resignation on May 25, 2012. A day before he resigned, Kolarov declared he did not owe any properties to the Commission.

He bought the laptop and the cell phone on February 27. According to the Commission for Prevention of Conflict of Interest, the laptop and the cell phone should have been sold through a tender.

The Court's experts have established that Kolarov not only did not deprive the institution, but the Agency benefited from the purchase as he had paid for it a price higher than the market value.

Upon resigning, Kolarov pointed out "a lack of a reform-minded majority in the Commission for Establishing of Property Acquired from Criminal Activity and a lack of political support on the part of Parliament and the President." He accused some of his fellow Commission members of doing nothing in exchange for hefty salaries.

Borisov was quick to accept his resignation, stating he "triggered scandals."

Kolarov worked at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and was a legal advisor at the US embassy in Sofia.

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