Probes Launched over Former Bulgarian Govt's 'Suspicious' Flights

Bulgaria’s Chief Prosecutor's Office has initiated two pre-trial proceedings after a signal made by Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski and the Minister of Defense Angel Naydenov.

The signal is on flights operated by Bulgaria's special Flight Crew 28, the prosecution said.

The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office (SGP) started pre-trial proceedings against officials of the Council of Ministers on June 19. They are accused that for the period May 1 2009 - May 1 2013 they violated their duties in order to provide benefit for themselves or others which could cause harmful effects on the state budget.

The case under investigation is the flights that Flight Crew 28 performed in Bulgaria and abroad and their compliance with the regulatory requirements for the operation of the squad.

The building of Flight Crew 28 was ransacked on Tuesday after approval, the prosecution said.

A number of documents related to the organization of work and the underlying domestic and overseas flights were seized. Documents and videos from the so called VIP points in Sofia Airport were also seized.

The investigative actions were carried out by a joint team of investigators from the Investigations Division of SGI and employees of the National Revenue Agency, the prosecution reported.

Sofia’s Military Prosecutor has initiated an investigation against the officials of the Bulgarian Army and Department of Defense officials for crimes on June 20. The reason is that for the period August 2009- March 2013, the officials exceeded their authority by providing military aircraft for use at home and abroad for purposes other than the armed forces of Bulgaria 51 times.  This resulted in nearly BGN 813,000 in damage.

The investigation is carried out by military prosecutors in units of the Air Force (Vrazhdebna, Krumovo, Bezmer) and the National Security Service (NSO.)
Many documents are seized with full support from the Commander of the Navy. Interviews with members of the flight crew as well as with officers from NSO, including its director, are being conducted.

The scandal over Flight Crew 28 broke out in the summer of 2012  when it emerged that the government aircraft had been used to take two amateur league football teams to the Black Sea city of Varna for a match.

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