12 Years Prison Verdict in Bulgaria's SAPARD Fraud Case

Crime | June 30, 2010, Wednesday // 14:48|  views

Bulgarian businessman Mario Nikolov upon entering the courtroom to hear his verdict Wednesday. Photo by BGNES.

Mario Nikolov, the Bulgarian businessman sued for draining EUR 7,5 M from the EU agriculture program SAPARD, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Sofia City Court Wednesday.

Nikolov and a group of accomplices – his wife Mariyana, Radmil Petrov, Petya Hadzhiivanova, Anna Sharkova, Grigor Glavev, Valentin Angelov, and Lazarina Georgieva – were charged with participating in an organized crime group engaged in draining funds by listing second-hand meat processing equipment as new.

Wednesday Radmil Petrov and Petya Hadzhiivanova were acquitted, while Nikolov's wife Mariyana Nikolova got a sentence of 14 years. All of the other defendants were pronounced guilty with 1o-year sentences, except Grigor Glavev, who got a 3-year

The prosecutor had asked Monday for 17 years behind bars for Mario Nikolov, 14 years for his wife and 12 years for each of the other defendants.

Nikolov himself claimed that he was a “scapegoat” for the malfunctioning judicial system in Bulgaria and that everyone was intent on convicting him without any adequate proof.

On March 29, Sofia City Court sentenced Nikolov to 10 years behind bars and his wife, Mariana, to 8 years in another notorious SAPARD case. The two were charged, along with businessman Lyudmil Stoykov, with laundering the money drained from SAPARD. Stoykov was acquitted by the Court. The trail was provoked by revelations of the European Anti-Fraud Office OLAF, which spoke of a “Nikolov-Stoykov Group”. Four other persons were convicted in it.

If both verdicts stand, Nikolov is to serve the longer, 12-year sentence. Nikolov has the right to appeal in front of Sofia Appellate Court.

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Tags: EU funds abuse, EU funds, corruption, fraud, draining, SAPARD, Mario Nikolov, Lyudmil Stoykov

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