European prosecutors look into Zheleznitsa tunnel construction
Six companies' offices and four private houses were searched on Monday at the request of the European Public Prosecutor's Office following allegations of misappropriation, misuse of EU funds, and money laundering related to the construction of the Zheleznitsa road tunnel, the office of Laura Kövesi in Luxembourg announced. Bulgaria's longest road tunnel, part of the Struma motorway leading to the border with Greece, was opened to traffic at the end of February.
The construction of the tunnel was overseen by the government's Road Infrastructure Agency, which contracted a consortium of three companies for the project. It was co-financed by the European Cohesion Fund under the Transport and Transport Infrastructure operational program (2014 - 2020), which justifies the intervention of the European Public Prosecutor's Office tasked with ensuring the lawful expenditure of the European budget.
Court lifts seizure of Bozhkov's cultural objects
The Sofia City Administrative Court has annulled a decision by the National Revenue Agency (NRA) to seize 15 movable cultural monuments from the collection of Vasil Bozhkov, valued at just over 20 million levs, and has ordered the NRA to pay the costs of the lawsuit. The court's decision is final and cannot be appealed or contested.
Bozhkov had contested an order to impound the cultural heritage objects dated September 27, 2022 and issued by a public bailiff at NRA.
The public bailiff had imposed the preliminary security measures during an audit procedure against the businessman, deeming it necessary to prevent transactions and actions with his property that would render the collection of tax liabilities and mandatory social security contributions impossible or significantly hindered.
Google cars begin nation-wide tour
Google Street View cars are embarking on a new tour of Bulgaria's roads this spring, the company announced. They will pass through 25 cities, including Smolyan, Zlatograd, Isperih, Kardzhali and Pernik, among others. The aim is not only to update the images of cities and roads but also to provide better navigation and orientation for users, as well as to showcase new routes, landmarks, and infrastructure in the Google Maps app.
The Google Street View cars first toured Bulgarian cities in 2012 and have been regularly updating their footage since then. Photos from previous sessions are also available to users interested in exploring the development of infrastructure.
European prosecutors look into Zheleznitsa tunnel construction
Six companies' offices and four private houses were searched on Monday at the request of the European Public Prosecutor's Office following allegations of misappropriation, misuse of EU funds, and money laundering related to the construction of the Zheleznitsa road tunnel, the office of Laura Kövesi in Luxembourg announced. Bulgaria's longest road tunnel, part of the Struma motorway leading to the border with Greece, was opened to traffic at the end of February.
