After a report before a prosecutor at Sofia City Prosecutor's Office (SCPO), an investigator from the National Investigation Service (NIS) brought A.N., D.N. and L.Y. to justice on an investigation for damage caused to Bulgargaz EAD for over BGN 88 million.
The pre-trial proceedings were initiated on 30.08.2022 by a decree of a prosecutor from SCPO based on materials received by the State Agency for National Security (SANS) and after assessing for existing sufficient evidence for a criminal offence.
Given the particularly complex legal and factual issues of the case, at the proposal of the SCPO by decree of the Prosecutor General, the investigation was assigned to the National Investigation Service, where it is being conducted by a team of investigators.
The subject of the investigation is gas supply contracts and the circumstances related to them. In the course of investigation, numerous investigative actions were carried out and a large volume of evidence was collected, which the supervising prosecutor considered to be sufficient within the meaning of Art. 219 para 1 of the Criminal Procedure Code for bringing to justice.
A.N. and L.Y. were brought accusations for intentional mismanagement in particularly large scales and representing a particularly serious case (Art. 219, para. 4 in conjunction with para. 3 of the Criminal Code), as A.N. was brought to justice for not exercising sufficient control over the work of L.Y., who was entrusted with the management and disposal of public property - that of Bulgargaz EAD, and L.Y. - for not taking sufficient care of the management and preservation of the property entrusted to him - that of Bulgargaz EAD.
D.N. was charged with malfeasance - under Art. 282, para 3 in conjunction with para 2 and para 1 of the Criminal Code, that in his capacity as an official holding a responsible position, with the aim of obtaining a benefit for the trading company "M" EAD, exceeded his authority and rights, performing an action that is within the powers of the Minister of Energy resulting in significant harmful consequences and the case is particularly serious.
According to the evidence collected so far, the damage from the crimes caused to Bulgargaz EAD amounts to over BGN 88,000,000 (eighty-eight million).
According to the indictment, as a result of the intentional mismanagement and the malfeasance, the fulfillment of the obligations of "Bulgargaz" EAD was threatened in accordance with the license for the public supply of natural gas to the Republic of Bulgaria for a period of 35 years, issued by State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, as the only public supplier of natural gas for the territory of our country, and thus the fulfillment of the licensee's obligations to ensure a continuous and high-quality supply of natural gas and the security of natural gas supply was put at risk.
The collection and verification of evidence on this case continues in accordance with the requirements of the law on conducting a full, objective and comprehensive investigation.