SAPARD’S HEAD IS FACING INVESTIGATION FOR MISAPPROPRIATION OF BGN 22 MILLION

The Prosecutor's Office has started investigation against Dimitar Tadarukov, Executive Director of the Agriculture State Fund, because of data for mis-spending of approximately BGN 22 million under SAPARD program, Mediapool reported on April 18. The affair is directly related to the accusations of mis-spending of European funds against Assen Drumev, the previous head of Paying Agency SAPARD. The state accusation declared that the inspection against Tadarukov runs within the investigation against Drumev.                                                                                               

Against Drumev there are accusations of misappropriation of European funds to the total value of BGN 48 million. The resources have been granted for 15 projects under Measure 5 "Producers' markets and market-places". Before that he was also accused of hiring offices for the Agency at higher than the market prices.

Immediately after the start of the pre-trial investigation against Drumev some of the 15 companies that have received the relevant funds refused to sign the agreements under SAPARD. Thus, from the initial BGN 48 million, 22 million remained free at the disposal of his successor Dimitar Tadarukov.

The prosecutor's office suspects that Tadarukov has illegally redirected these funds to another measure for financing under SAPARD without competition, expert committee opinion and coordination with the European Commission. From the Agriculture State Fund announced that everything is legal and these projects have been officially audited.

"The relevant BGN 22 million has been allocated under other SAPARD measures in order to be effectively assimilated" said Dimitar Peichev, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Supply who is also head of the Monitoring Committee under the program.

He added also that the decision was adopted at the 14th session of the Monitoring Committee that was attended by the representatives of the EC Directorat-General for Agriculture and Rural Development - Kay Mortensen and Stylianos Vayanos.
Tadarukov himself announced publicly a week ago that the redirecting of funds from one measure to another is a standard practice in case there are no projects under the main measure. The state accusation claims that at this stage there are no proofs of the fact that the money was spent legally.

Moreover, the head of SAPARD clearly stood up for his predecessor saying that he has not committed any violations. Some of the investigators said that SAPARD Agency is not assisting them in any respect on this case. The city's prosecutor's office claims that Tadarukov's deputies are banned from talking to the investigation team.

15 days ago at a designated press conference Assen Drumev said that he has no idea why he is accused. According to the ex-head of the Fund and his attorneys the prosecution bases its allegations "only on one signature missing from the list of approved projects". The list was an internal use only document and had no legal value. The missing signature is of the Deputy Director of the Fund.
According to the court, the Prosecutor's Office has presented enough evidence in favour of a reasonable supposition that the accused has committed a crime in respect of the relevant BGN 48 million.