The Sofia City Court continued the case against the former mayor of Varna Ivan Portnih with the questioning of witnesses on the project for the "Quarantine" fishing port. Consultants who participated in the implementation of the project were heard in the courtroom, and former Minister Nikolay Nankov also appeared as a witness.
The trial is against Portnih, the former regional governor of Varna Stoyan Pasev and two employees of the Executive Agency "Maritime Administration". They are defendants on charges of alleged fraud related to the financing of the project. According to the prosecution, documents with false data were used in the application to obtain about 3.4 million euros from European and national funds.
Testimony on the project
At the previous hearing on September 30, the court questioned three witnesses. Rositsa Popova, who participated in the preparation of the project, stated that no one influenced her in the preparation or conclusion of the contract. She explained that she studied ports on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and had tasks both in the preparation and during the construction of the facility.
Lozana Vasileva, who held management positions in the State Fund “Agriculture“ and the Ministry of Agriculture, indicated to the court that she signed contracts in the field of maritime affairs and fisheries. According to her, she approved the project in her capacity as deputy minister.
Ivan Dobrev, who prepared the detailed development plan, stated that his task included determining the boundaries of the property, access to it and geodetic surveying of the land. He specified that he did not examine the port itself, but only the land part.
The defense denies the charges
Ivan Portnych categorically denies guilt. In front of „Eurocom“ he stated:
„This process is a complete farce.“The former mayor claims that the main accusation was related to the thesis that the port does not exist, and indicates that in his opinion the physical existence of the facility has been proven. Portnich also states that the actions against him are politically motivated.
The case is being considered in the general procedure after the parties requested that all witnesses be questioned. The Sofia City Court launched the trial on the merits in March 2026. Before that, the court proceedings went through a dispute over the indictment, which was returned to eliminate procedural violations, but subsequently the trial continued on the merits.
Sources: eurocom.bg, nova.bg, bta.bg