Bulgaria Govt to Cut Out Crown Agents Customs Consultancy

Bulgaria Finance Minister Simeon Djankov made a hint in a TV appearance that his Ministry may not renew the contract with the Crown Agents company that consults Bulgaria's customs. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian Finance Ministry is unlikely to renew its contract with Crown Agents, the British company consulting Bulgaria's Customs Agency.

Bulgaria's Finance Minister Simeon Djankov said in a TV appearance on Nova TV that the contract with the foreign consulting company is due to expire at the end of June 2010 and hinted that it may not be prolonged.

Djankov explained that Crown Agents have been unable to give a proper answer to the query of Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov about how corruption was made possible in the Bulgarian customs.

Crown Agents have responded by saying that they do not have an analysis on the possible leaks in the Bulgarian Customs Agency and cannot explain the abuses that have occurred.

Djankov said for Nova TV that the consulting services of the British company are rather expensive and that Bulgaria has its own experts that can provide similar services.

When asked if he intends to terminate the contract with Crown Agents, Bulgaria's Finance Minister answered with the laconic “I can't wait for this couple of days to be over.”

Crown Agents has been providing consultancy services to the Bulgarian government since 2001. All the services they have provided have been directly financed by the Bulgarian government itself.

For many years Crown Agents was a British public corporation. In 1997 it transferred to the private sector as a limited company owned by a new entity, The Crown Agents Foundation.

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