Bulgarian Official in Charge of EU Aid in Fake Diploma Scandal

Kalina Ilieva never completed her studies at the Berlin University for Engineering and Economics, from which she claimed to have graduated. Photo by BGNES

By Deutsche Presse-Agentur

A Bulgarian official used a fake German university diploma to land the job of administering hundreds of millions of euros in EU agricultural aid, it emerged Tuesday.

Kalina Ilieva never completed her studies at the Berlin University for Engineering and Economics, from which she claimed to have graduated, according to the Agriculture Ministry in Sofia.

The ministry said it had checked her credentials with the university.

Ilieva now faces charges both in Bulgaria and Germany for faking her diploma.

In 2009, Ilieva became head of the state agency handling payments from the European Union, of which Bulgaria became a member. She was 28 at the time.

Her job was to implement stricter oversight over EU-funded projects, after several corruption affairs saw Brussels sever aid to the south-east European country

The EU unblocked all aid in November 2009.

Ilieva had already been under investigation for covering up a pregnancy from her superiors.

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