A case against the decision of a former eco - minister which made a big part of the ski zone Bansko a “gift” for an offshore company has started

The scandalous thing in the case is not only that the state permits such a construction which is not provided into the concessioner contract for the ski zone, but also the fact that the right for construction into the given to the concessionared territory from the National park of Pirin is given to a private company different from the concessioner “Ulen”Ltd.
The company is “Marengo trading”EOOD, one of the shareholders in “Ulen”Ltd and it is owned by the registered in Cyprus offshore company “Marengo trading limited”. In practice with the decision of the eco minister Atanasov, the connected with “Ulen”Ltd offshore company receives rights for an unlimited period on the exclusive state property in National Park of Pirin. In this way the economic circle around the concessioner aims by violation of the Law for the Concessions to keep under control the ski zone Bansko and even to blackmail the state and future concessioners when it comes to cease the present concession - within the terms or not.

In relation to the scandalous decision and parallel to the court trial a prosecutor’s verification against the former eco minister and present deputy from the Movement for Rights and Freedom is ongoing. By ordinance from 23.02.2015 from the Regional Prosecutor’s office in Blagoevgrad, the first results from the ordinance are sent to the Sofia City prosecutor’s office. It is a clear fact from the results that to the offshore company is permitted to build the new lift not only without the concessioner right, but as well with almost double increase of the servitutеterritory.

Furthermore, the prosecutor’s office revealed facts proving shocking corruption. On one hand, the decision of the 31 years old minister from MRF contradicts completely the decision of the eco minister Nona Karadjova from 2011 by which the same project is rejected as an unacceptable and entirely contradicting the legislation and the concessioner’s contract.

On the other hand, the suspicions for misusing the power arose from the data for “change” of the decision of the Ministry of Environment for the construction of the new lift within the period of 1 month and exactly in the period when Stanislav Atanasov had been elected for Minister of Environment and Waters by the Government of Oresharski – in June 2014.

Last week the coalition “For the nature in Bulgaria” ceased the eco minister Ivelina Vassileva that the offshore company “Marengo trading” is owner not only of the privatized from “Ulen”Ltd ski facilities of the state society “Academika 2000”EOOD for the needs of the conseccion but it is in violation to the Law for concessions and concessioner contract is acquired property on the new built 4seats lifts into the area of “Platoto” and area of “Chalin valog” which should be state property according the Law. In their signal the conservationists revealed a enormous scheme for ransacking the state property at the ski zone Bansko through the offshore company connected to the concessioner “Ulen” Ltd.

From the coalition “For the nature in Bulgaria” insist the subject for the property and hidden privatization of the ski facilities and buildings at the concession of the ski zone Bansko to be subject of the profound analyses by the ministerial working group. It should be part of its final report which will find why the facilities are not acted by the state and whether the sale to third parties with the aim of keeping the control of the investor on the ski zone is not a violation of the law presuming the breaking the concessioner’s contract.