REPORTERNET.COM

The European Commission has launched an investigation against Bulgaria on allegations of liquidity support to Corporate Commercial Bank, which is believed to finance the media group of mogul Irena Krasteva.

The document, obtained by Trud daily, obliges Bulgaria's government to reply to thirteen questions and provide information on the relationship history of Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB) with the state owned companies, which have deposited funds in CCB.
The letter has been sent by the European Commission Competition DG to the Permanent Representation of Bulgaria in the European on December 21, 2011.
The European Commission launched the investigation following an anonymous tip-off received in Brussels in the autumn of 2010, according to the report.
The letter makes it clear that the EU executive gathered information on the issue nearly a year.
Only six days after receiving the letter Deputy Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov forwarded it to Economy Minister Traicho Traikov, Transport Minister Ivailo Moskovski and Defense Minister Anyu Angelov. The three departments are owners of the largest enterprises, which still have not gone under the hammer.
The written statements by Bulgarian officials, as cited by Trud daily, show that the relationship of state-owned companies from the transport sector with the CCB began in the period 2003-2007, after which the contracts for deposit and current accounts have only been extended.
The officials however refuse to say whether there was a competition for the selection of the bank and what criteria were used, claiming the answer could destabilize the banking system.



(source: www.novinite.com)