The Parliamentary Group of the MRF has proposed that a temporary parliamentary commission in the National Assembly be established, in order to ascertain the facts and circumstances regarding the activity, financing, institutional links and possible influence on state bodies by the National Agency for the Control of Protected Areas (NACPT) and related persons and organisations, as well as with regard to the unregulated activity of the group operating in the area of the former Petrohan mountain lodge.
According to the submitters of the proposal, the Petrohan case goes beyond the framework of a common criminal act and has become a case with a significant public and institutional impact. According to the motives for the proposal, the investigations and analyses published so far raise the question of whether the group under investigation represents an isolated, closed community or are part of a wider network involving individuals with influence in the public, political and economic life of the country, the motives say.
The motives also stress that grounds for the investigation are based on public allegations of systematic contacts between the leadership of this group and representatives of the political and economic elite, including in person visits (including known visits by political figures such as Vasil Terziev – Mayor of Sofia, Borislav Sandov – Minister of Environment and Water in the government of Kiril Petkov, Asen Asenov – related to the Capital circle of Ivo Prokopiev and other persons to the Petrohan lodge, as well as regular contacts with representatives of the NACPT). The commission will also investigate the provision of significant financial resources by persons including political figures such as the Mayor of Sofia Vasil Terziev and representatives of the business and the non-governmental sector such as Sasha Bezuhanova.
Such a commission needs to be established not only to clarify the specific case, but also to identify the systemic gaps which permitted the emergence and development of such a structure, including the opportunities for unregulated influence over state institutions, circumvention of the law and the creation of parallel mechanisms for power and funding. The motives also state that clarification of these questions is essential to protect the public interest, restore trust in institutions and prevent similar cases in the future.
Link to the draft resolution: https://www.parliament.bg/
