EU prosecutors indict Petrich mayor over EU-funded museum project
Mayor Dimitar Brachkov is accused of hiding that an old barracks was demolished before an EU-funded museum was built in Petrich. He faces two to eight years in prison.
Symbolic image · Photo: Васил Митов / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (cropped and resized)
The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has filed a fraud indictment against the mayor of Petrich, Dimitar Brachkov, with the Sofia City Court. The case concerns the project "Cultural Dipole in the Cross-Border Region", co-financed with 646,857.59 euros from the European Regional Development Fund under the INTERREG V-A Greece–Bulgaria 2014–2020 programme. The court has assigned the case; a date for the preliminary hearing has yet to be set.
The money was meant to rehabilitate a former military camp in Petrich and turn it into a museum of the town's and region's history. Prosecutors say the original barracks had already been demolished before construction began, meaning the building was rebuilt rather than renovated. By concealing this, the mayor allegedly breached the eligibility conditions for EU funding. If convicted, he faces two to eight years in prison.
Brachkov responded on social media that he is proud of the new Historical Museum, which he said is operating and well visited, and called the case a continuation of events that began a year ago. When the allegations first emerged in March 2025, he said the municipality would prove the project had been properly implemented. He is presumed innocent until a final verdict.