Prosecutors Probe Bulgaria Mayor for Property Fraud

Plovdiv Mayor, Slavcho Atanasov, firmly denies allegations he had been part of a fraudulent property deal involving municipal land. Photo by BGNES

The Regional Prosecutor's Office in Bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv has begun a probe of the city's Mayor, Slavcho Atanasov, over an alleged property fraud.

The probe comes on the heels of media publications Atanasov, from the nationalist VMRO party, had sold a land plot, owned by the municipality, to his father.

According to an article, published in the Plovdiv “Maritsa” newspaper, the Mayor's father – Stoyu Atanasov is the owner of a 227-square-meter land plot in the Plovdiv “Kyuchuk Paris (Small Paris) district. The sale had been carried out through a contract, dated January 30, 2008, signed by the Mayor. The sale price is BGN 83 446.

Slavcho Atanasov sent a letter to the media dismissing the allegations as speculation and slander, pointing out all documents are available to the public at the City Hall and can be verified immediately.