Bulgaria should recover 38 mln euro in EU funds for railway project - OLAF

In cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the inquiry looked into an EU-funded railway modernisation project, focusing on the financial losses resulting from suspected procurement and project execution irregularities, OLAF said in a press release on Wednesday.

The project, funded by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), is related to a section between the cities of Kostenets and Septemvri on the railway line connecting the capital Sofia with the city of Plovdiv and has a budget of over 130 million euro, the EPPO said in a separate statement.

CINEA can now follow up on OLAF’s recommendations.

OLAF's investigation revealed that two winning bidders lacked the required technical capabilities for project implementation or had misrepresented their financial capacities, it said.

EPPO's ongoing investigation is focused on potential criminal offences, including EU fund misuse and money laundering, and is looking into a second railway project valued at 111 million euro.

($ = 0.9255 euro)