The Sofia City Court (SCC) launched the case in a preliminary hearing against former Varna mayor Ivan Portnih. Former regional governor Stoyan Pasev and other state administration officials are also defendants, bTV reported.
According to the indictment, they participated in a scheme in which millions of leva were embezzled from European funds through falsified documents and false information - money that should have gone to real infrastructure and development of the region, and not for fictitious projects and personal benefits.
The damage to the European Union (EU) budget is estimated at approximately 2.8 million euros, and the additional damage to the national budget - at 675,475 euros.
On December 1, 2025, the European Prosecutor's Office in Sofia filed an indictment against the former mayor and former regional governor of Varna, Stoyan Pasev, as well as against two officials from the Executive Agency “Maritime Administration“, for fraud related to the reconstruction of a non-existent fishing port.