“Houses for mothers-in-law” with coronasubsidies: bigwigs from GERB, MRF and even Alexander Manolev

The company “Agrotrade” – Ana Dimitrova, where the scandalous guest house of former Deputy Minister Alexander Manolev is headed, has received BGN 1,800. European money from the State Fund Agriculture to tackle the covid crisis. A total of 171 companies with guest houses have received such subsidies, including 15 companies associated with political figures, mostly from GERB and MRF, as well as SFA officials.

The data on corona subsidies distributed by the SFA under Measure 21.1 and Measure 21.2 of the RDP were received under the APIA and are currently processed in our integrated system for monitoring public expenditure. Total 919 532.80 BGN Companies with guest houses have received assistance.

In addition to the SFA, owners of politically connected “mothers-in-law houses” have applied for and received subsidies under other programs for aid in the coronacrisis. They received money from PMS 151, PMS 55, Employment, Micro and Small Enterprises, etc., our search engine showed.

Among those helped to cope with the consequences of the coronacrisis are the spa hotels of the son and daughter of the mayor of Mineralni Bani Myumyun Ali Iskander from DPS, the hotel of the daughter-in-law of the mayor of Dolna Banya Vladimir Djambazov from GERB, the house of the municipal councilor from GERB Jamal Asanov, former mayor of Borino, the house of the mayor of Lukovit Ivan Grancharov from GERB, the house of the daughter of the municipal councilor from MRF and leader of the party in Harmanli Sezgin Mustafa, the house of the leader of GERB in the village of Sarnitsa Mustafa Alikanov, the house of the MP Yordan Apostolov from NFSB and houses of relatives of SFA experts. Corona subsidies have also been arranged by a relative of the expelled from GERB MP Dimitar Gamishev.

For 48 of the companies with guest houses that have received coronasubsidies, there is evidence of a prosecutor’s file, the outcome of which, however, is unclear. A full SFA sanction was imposed on 16 companies for their projects, and another 23 were imposed a partial penalty. These circumstances are obviously not an obstacle for companies that have misused European funds to be again at the SFA feeder.

The scandal with the “mothers-in-law” was revealed by the investigative site Bivol back in 2016, but its true scale was seen in 2019 in the continuation of the “Apartmentgate” scandal. The most striking case is with the house of the former Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev, who shaped the land and the construction of a luxury villa with EU funds of the company “Agrotrade” – Ana Dimitrova and even built a water pipeline with mineral water to the property.

Ana Dimitrova is the daughter of Manolev’s child’s nanny, the prosecutor’s office revealed, which filed an indictment against Manolev and Ana Dimitrova. However, the case in the Blagoevgrad Court has not yet proceeded on the merits. There is no evidence that KPKONPI has seized the villa in Sandanski, despite the data on the criminal acquisition of the property.

The scandal was followed by SFA inspections and sanctions for most projects where irregularities were found. At the same time, very few of the politically connected “mothers-in-law” had to return money, and as you can see, they continue to receive European subsidies.

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