European prosecutors search Kovachki thermal power stations over fraud
The European Prosecutor's Office has carried out dozens of searches and swoops on companies from businessman Hristo Kovachki's group, as part of a probe into possible fraud related to the EU Emissions Trading System. The prosecutor's office of Laura Köveshi officially confirmed this after GDBOP and DANS entered the offices of energy companies in several cities on Monday.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office indicates that a private company responsible for the verification of greenhouse gas emissions of thermal power plants and district heating plants is being investigated for allegedly submitting falsified reports to the competent national authorities. From 2017 until the present, the said company knowingly submitted false data in its annual reports on greenhouse gas emissions produced by thermal power plants and district heating in order to understate the amount of emissions produced by them within the framework of the European CO2 trading scheme.
Business results improve in February
Companies in Bulgaria were more optimistic this February, and assessments of the business environment nudged up across almost all sectors, according to the NSI's regular survey of results among company managers. After several consecutive months of modest growth, the general indicator of economic conditions is now up 1.4 points from January and has already reached its highest value since mid-2021. The most significant shift in the positive direction is in the services sector, which approached pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
Overall, the biggest problem for businesses remains economic uncertainty, fuelled by the war in Ukraine. In recent months, an unusually high share of companies from all sectors have also cited labor shortages against the backdrop of record low unemployment
Vitosha Venture Partners invest in 5 startups
Bulgarian-based venture capital fund Vitosha Venture Partners has provided 5 local companies with fresh capital, the firm announced. E-commerce software startup Dynamic pricing has raised EUR 400 000, followed by vegan snack producer Brain Foods and grain marketplace Agriniser who both attracted EUR 200 000 each. Safety provider Fly the Earth and content marketing platform Youbhappy have also received respectively EUR 50 000 each to continue developing their products.
This is Vitosha's second announcement of new portfolio companies after closing another 3 deals in January. It is expected to invest in another 30 companies by the end of 2023.
European prosecutors search Kovachki thermal power stations over fraud
The European Prosecutor's Office has carried out dozens of searches and swoops on companies from businessman Hristo Kovachki's group, as part of a probe into possible fraud related to the EU Emissions Trading System. The prosecutor's office of Laura Köveshi officially confirmed this after GDBOP and DANS entered the offices of energy companies in several cities on Monday.
