Former Varna mayor Ivan Portnih from GERB is going to court after the European Public Prosecutor's Office accused him and former regional governor Stoyan Pasev of falsifying documents in an attempt to receive 3.4 million euros for the renovation of a non-existent port. The signal to the European judiciary was submitted by the MP and part of the leadership of “Yes, Bulgaria” Stella Nikolova.
“This is a battle that I started with the support of Varna residents back in 2020 and here we are, victory for our city is finally upon us! It is time for justice to prevail and for those suspected of misusing European funds to be held accountable for their actions, if proven guilty,” Nikolova, who is also a former municipal councilor, was categorical.
The PP-DB MP recalled that only a month ago, the Minister of Interior Daniel Mitov personally publicly stood shoulder to shoulder with the accused Portnich, despite serious doubts that the former mayor was involved in a corruption crime.
“If Bulgarian justice continues to be used as a repressive baton, then the European one works effectively and we must strive to achieve this standard of justice, instead of relying on someone else to do our job. Unfortunately, apparently the current authorities are not worried when suspects for a midday robbery on a huge scale are attached to them”, Nikolova also emphasized.
The woman from Varna recalled that tonight in a number of Bulgarian cities, led by Varna and Sofia, a protest is being organized against the draft budget of Borisov, Peevski and their ruling coalition.
“I call on people to come out boldly and declare that the management's scams and thefts from their own pockets are finally over. Tens of thousands of people cannot and will not tolerate this outrage for another day!”, Nikolova concluded.