Minister Shishkov vows to fight those “who literally robbed the state”
Regional Minister Ivan Shishkov says prosecutors grew more active once the government supplied evidence of violations, including on the Hemus highway. He criticizes protests by former anti-graft parties.
Symbolic image · Photo: Vassia Atanassova - Spiritia / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Bulgarian Regional Development Minister Ivan Shishkov is defending the government's action against alleged misuse of public funds. Prosecutors have become more active since the government pressed them and provided concrete evidence of violations, he said in a commentary for broadcaster bTV, as reported by Banker.bg. Violations in public spending, including in the construction of the Hemus highway, must be cleared up, he said.
Shishkov noted that construction of the Hemus began in 1974 and that in 50 years not even half of the route has been completed. Three years ago, his ministry, as part of a caretaker government, had the construction audited; violations were later found on the fourth section and the documents were handed to prosecutors. “We will fight those who literally robbed the state,” he said.
The minister also asked why political forces that once promised to fight corruption were now protesting against the government's actions. The political arrangements of recent years had kept the criticized model alive, he said. According to a Banker.bg report on the same day, the ministry also put losses from electricity deals with the company “ViK Energy Group” at almost 1.8 million euros.