Chief of Cabinet of Bulgarian PM Charged with Assisting EU Funds Fraud

Тhe chief of cabinet of Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski, Maria Divizieva, has said she is on a leave of absence until the matter is resolved. Photo by BGNES

The prosecuting authority has pressed charges against the chief of cabinet of Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski, Maria Divizieva.

She was handed the indictment on Thursday at the State Agency for National Security (DANS) HQ.

Divizieva's indictment is related to an investigation into the Administrative Capacity Operational Program.

She was charged with facilitating the presentation of false statements in a report under the operational program by Petar Petkov, then-Chair of the Military Appellate Court, in her capacity as head of the managing authority of the operational program in 2009.

The probe, launched in 2010, concerns an EU-funded project worth over BGN 700 000 for software for military courts.

Several days ago, Petar Petkov was also charged with unduly spending EU funding earmarked for creating an information system for the military courts, according to reports of Sega daily.

Veselin Pengezov, Chair of the Sofia Appellate Court, has been charged with assisting Petkov.

Pengezov was Chair of the Military Appellate Court in 2008 at the time when the project was implemented.

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