
A day after the end of his term as caretaker Minister of Energy, Vladimir Malinov was elected executive member of the Board of „Bulgartransgas“ Ltd., the Anti-Corruption Fund Foundation (ACF) said.
The decision of the Supervisory Board of the public gas transmission company (from January 17) was quickly approved by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC), despite the scandal surrounding the failed expansion of the „Chiren“ gas storage, which is being investigated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office on a tip-off about attempts to commit abuses worth nearly BGN 400 million.
The regulator also overlooked Article 86 of the Anti-Corruption Act, which stipulates that individuals who have held public office are prohibited from exercising managerial or supervisory functions in commercial companies they have regulated or supervised as part of their official duties for one year.
„The decision of the EWRC to ignore the scandals surrounding Malinov, both as the former executive director of „Bulgartransgas“ and as acting Minister of Energy, as well as to neglect provisions of the anti-corruption legislation, is, to say the least, concerning,“, said Lora Georgieva, a member of the legal team of the Anti-Corruption Fund, adding, „We have alerted the Registry Agency and we rely on them to enforce Bulgarian law by refusing the registration.“
Malinov’s return to „Bulgartransgas“ was announced on January 23, 2025, to the Registry Agency. The agency has until January 27, Monday, to register or refuse the decision, and thus it serves as the last brake on the controversial decisions of „Bulgartransgas“ and the EWRC.
The actions of the Supervisory Board of „Bulgartransgas“ suggest that the managerial position was waiting for Malinov. The three-member Supervisory Board was incomplete while he was serving as acting Minister of Energy. However, the board was filled, albeit formally, the day after he left the position, until a competition is held.
„However, in practice, competitions are a rare occurrence in state energy companies, and important positions are held for years by temporary officials,“, Georgieva stated.
As the ACF revealed in its investigation „Gas, Relative, Policeman“, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of „Bulgargaztrans“ since 2014 is Kiril Georgiev, a former municipal councilor for GERB in Sofia, who combines this position with two others – director of a department at the „Kozloduy“ Nuclear Power Plant responsible for the construction of units 7 and 8, and an employee of the Greek private company „Mitilineos“, which trades in Russian gas. The ACF also published an extended list of 33 „Bulgargaztrans“ employees connected to political parties, corporate interests, and state regulatory bodies.
Additionally, in 2024, in the video investigation „Chiren: Orders with a Convenient Tilt“, the ACF revealed attempts to commit abuses worth nearly BGN 400 million in the failed project to expand the gas storage facility.
The irregularities begin as early as 2022 with the announcement of the public procurement. Contrary to established international practices, the project is split into three separate public tenders. This increases the cost of implementation and complicates the technical execution of the project, while large international companies withdraw from participating in the competition. Everything seems even more suspicious given the fact that the three separate tenders are ultimately won by consortia with the same leading partner – the family-owned company „Glavbolgarstroy“.
Under Malinov’s leadership, „Bulgargaztrans“ allows „Glavbolgarstroy“ to make a number of changes to the contract for the construction of new gas storage wells. The changes save money for the private company at the expense of the public budget and the safe operation of the gas storage.
For example, several months after winning the tender, „Glavbolgarstroy“ informs the contracting authority that it will not build ten INCLINED-DIRECTED wells, as specified in the technical assignment and the offer submitted by the company itself. Instead, it proposes a simpler and about 40% cheaper technical solution – drilling VERTICAL wells. The public company accepts the proposal without objections.
The same reaction is observed from the management of „Bulgargaztrans“ when „Glavbolgarstroy“ changes its subcontractor for the third time, replacing the international company PM Lukas, with experience in drilling inclined-horizontal wells, with a Turkish-American consortium of two companies run by a married couple with no experience in gas drilling.
In the fall of 2024, after the expansion is already significantly delayed and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating allegations of abuses, „Glavbolgarstroy“ withdraws from the project, and „Bulgargaztrans“ waives a BGN 26 million penalty for the failed wells.
To date, there is no clarity on what is happening with the multimillion-euro funding from the European Commission and loans from Citibank with state guarantees from the US.
„The data presented by the ACF clearly shows that the public interest and the security of energy supplies were not the primary concerns in the execution of the „Chiren“ project,“, Boyko Stankushev, director of ACF, said, adding: “Instead of the anti-corruption institutions investigating, we see that even after the new regular government took office, not only is there no desire to seek accountability from Mr. Malinov, but he is apparently returning to where he can be most useful. The question is for whom.”