An investigation conducted by the Anti-Corruption Fund (ACF) has identified potential irregularities within the public procurement process for renovations and architectural supervision at four cultural institutions funded by the Culture Ministry. The total value of the questioned public contracts approaches EUR 5 million, covering sites including the Aleko Konstantinov State Satirical Theatre and the National Educational Complex for Culture (NUKK) in Sofia. Daniela Peneva, a legal expert at the ACF, stated that an analysis of the tender procedures revealed multiple violations of tender conditions.
The ACF noted that email correspondence suggested potential rigging of tenders with predetermined contractors. Furthermore, documentation review showed that in five of the eight contracts examined, the successful bidders lacked the requisite experience specified in the guidelines. Procedural issues were also noted, including an instance where an evaluation committee disqualified candidates for non-compliance with technical criteria after price proposals had already been submitted.
The ACF investigation highlighted that the contracts were awarded to companies including Crypto Energy EOOD, Multi Stroi Comers EOOD, and D&D OOD. Publicly available information indicates several connections between these entities, including shared personnel and office addresses linked to an individual named Petar Dyulgerov. Concerns were also raised regarding conflicts of interest involving external experts.
Two lawyers, Ivan Sotirov and Kristian Sotirov, were repeatedly involved in preparing contract documentation and serving on evaluation committees. In one specific instance at the Satirical Theatre
Topics: #public #procurement #contracts
The investigation revealed potential irregularities in the public procurement contracts for four cultural institutions.