Sofia City Prosecutor's Office has ordered the State Agency for National Security (DANS) to check 84 contracts between the Road Infrastructure Agency, Avtomagistrali and building firms, it said. The contracts cover work to secure sites on the national road network that are affected by geodynamic processes and phenomena.
The checks follow DANS material pointing to possible crimes. According to this material, Avtomagistrali signed 129 contracts with construction companies worth a total of €411,666,147.23 (287.96 leva) without VAT, or about €210.5m.
The checks will look at possible evasion of public procurement rules, how contractors were chosen, the passing of work to subcontractors and advance payments. Prosecutors said they will establish what was actually done at each site, how far the work has got and how the money was spent.
In June, prosecutors opened a pre-trial case over mismanagement at Avtomagistrali. Two reports were added to it: one about misuse of Bulgaria's budget in payments for building the Hemus motorway, and one about misconduct in office when contracts were signed to finish it.