Tsatsarov hides inconsistencies in the PEPs declarations for 2019

Commission for Combating Corruption and Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Property (
KPKONPI
), headed by Sotir Tsatsarov, has been hiding for months which persons who filed declarations of assets and interests in 2020 (for 2019), the checks have ended with a report of non-compliance. The information on which persons have not filed a corrective declaration has also not been published.

This information is extremely important to date, as it can shed light on some of the persons occupying senior public positions who have not declared in accordance with the appropriate procedure owned personally by them or through related or dummy persons properties and bank accounts abroad. The information has been diligently hidden from the prosecutor’s office since the time when it was headed by Sotir Tsatsarov and continues to be concealed to this day by Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev.

In a concise
message
on 23 July 2021, the prosecution only confirmed information already known from public statements of Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov. It was “found that in respect of 11 persons – representatives of legislative and executive authorities (2 MPs, 2 deputy ministers, 2 chairmen of municipal councils, 1 mayor, 4 deputy mayors) and for 27 magistrates (17 judges, 5 prosecutors and 5 investigators) there is a suspicion that they have not duly declared bank accounts and/or real estate owned abroad“.

Three weeks earlier, such confirmation was first made by the NRA in a published
decision
for information under FOIA, which made clear that the same 38 persons have already been verified by the NRA and the relevant protocols had been drawn up.

Are the 2019 discrepancies hiding?

KPKONPI has prepared
report on activities for 2020
, which contains information on the number of discrepancies found in the declarations of assets and interests submitted in 2020 (for 2019), but the information on personsfor which a discrepancy was found and declarations have not been published. In addition, by now the returns filed in 2021 (for 2020) should have been published.

In March 2020.
the report of the CPKONPI for 2019
includes information on the verification of the declarations of assets and interests filed in 2019 and contains information on the verifications concluded with a non-compliance report, and the information is published on the website
https://register.caciaf.bg
the register of persons holding senior public office. It is no different in 2019 with the 2018 report and the information on discrepancies has been published.

When are the declarations published? When are identified discrepancies announced?

The law is very clear, according to Art. 38 of the
OF THE CPCIPA
, a declaration of assets and interests shall be made: within one month of the holding of the senior public office or annually by 15 May – for the previous calendar year. According to Article 40 (2) within two months (until 15 July) The Commission publishes on its website the declarations of persons holding senior public office and a list of persons who have not submitted declarations by the deadline. According to Article 43 (1) within up to 6 months does verification of declarations and (Art. 46, para. 1) in case of non-compliance, the Commission shall notify the person concerned and shall give him/her 14 days to rectify the deficiencies and errors in the declared circumstances. And according to (art. 46, para. 2) The Commission publishes on its website the conclusions on the persons found to be non-compliant in the declarations. This means by the end of the year in which the declarations are submitted or the beginning of the following year, as past practice shows.

In addition, KPKONPI is late with the publication of the the inaugural declarations of assets and interests of the members of the 45th National Assembly, which was convened on 15 April 2021, and the publication of the declarations should have been made by 15 June 2021 (Article 40, paragraph 2, within two months). Now, however, with a message on its website, the KPKONPI reminds the newly elected MPs from the 46th National Assembly that they have until 23 August 2021 inclusive to submit declarations.

***

Разследващата журналистика е разузнаването на гражданите. BIRD се финансира от дарения. Ние не публикуваме реклами. Не получаваме държавни субсидии. Не разчитаме на грантове. Финансирането чрез малки дарения от читатели е гаранция за нашата независимост. Включете се, за да продължим да разкриваме злоупотреби и да държим отговорни властимащите. Използваме Вашите пари за хонорари на журналистите, командировки, изграждане и поддръжка на нашите информационни системи, такси за фирмени и имотни регистри у нас и по света, придобиване на техника и специално оборудване, осигуряване на нашата безопасност и други важни работни мисии. Важно: Ако дарявате всеки месец това ще ни даде възможност да планираме и организираме нашата работа. Благодарим Ви! Нас ни има, защото Вас Ви има!

This post is also available in: Български (Bulgarian)