The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office (SGP) received two reports with allegations for possible crimes committed in connection with a project to build a National Children's Hospital (NDB).
The first signal was filed by representatives of a commercial company “Targovska Liga– Global Pharmacy Center“ with allegations that representatives of the Public Council for the construction of the NDB with expressed positions endangered national security and committed a crime against the Republic. For this reason, the State Agency “National Security” to carry out an inspection in accordance with the Judiciary Act. A basic principle in law is to listen to the opposing party, in this particular case representatives of the Public Council for the construction of the NDB. In this regard, information was taken from members of the Public Council of the NBD. At the same time, documents relevant to the case file have also been attached.
The supervising prosecutor came to the conclusion that there was no evidence of a crime of a general nature, a specific crime against the Republic, and ruled against the initiation of pre-trial proceedings. The main argument for a refusal is that the right to freedom of expression is a fundamental right and no one can be punished for their thoughts and in particular an opinion on a public issue.
The second signal was submitted by the Council of Ministers with a request to carry out a check on the legality of the procedure for approving the establishment of the Multispecialty Hospital for active treatment “Mommy and I” - the city of Sofia. The supervising prosecutor has entrusted the Anti-Corruption Commission with an investigation into possibly committed official crimes by employees of the Ministry of Health, the National Health Insurance Fund and the Executive Agency “Medical Supervision”. In the course of the inspection, information was taken from officials and members of the Public Council for the construction of the NDB. Numerous documents have been attached in connection with the mentioned project.
The supervising prosecutor came to the conclusion that there is no evidence of a crime of a general nature, specifically of a general official crime and impoverishment, and decided not to initiate pre-trial proceedings. Among the prosecutor's reasons for ruling out the initiation of pre-trial proceedings are that no violations of official duties, non-fulfilment of such duties or excess of authority have been established, as well as due to the fact that no vested purpose to receive a benefit or to be damage caused. It is also held that the crime of larceny was not committed because no harm was caused.
The rulings on the refusal to initiate pre-trial proceedings have been sent to the persons who filed the reports in the SGP, who can appeal them to the Sofia Appellate Prosecutor's Office (SAP). In the event that the rulings are confirmed by SAP, the persons who filed the reports may appeal to the Sofia City Court within 7 days of receiving the transcript.