site.btaParliamentary Probe Begins into Plovdiv Fair Ownership Saga

The National Assembly on Wednesday established an ad hoc committee of inquiry into the facts and circumstances related to entrepreneur Georgi Gergov taking full control over the International Fair of Plovdiv as a result of actions of the central government and the local authorities in Plovdiv and Varna since 2016. The decision was made unanimously by 184 votes in favour.

The motion was submitted by Yordan Ivanov (Democratic Bulgaria) and a group of other MPs. The inquiry committee will comprise 14 lawmakers, two from each parliamentary group. It was elected for a period of one month, at the end of which it is expected to present a report.

The facts which should be elucidated include: a decision by the state in 2016 to transfer a 49.63% stake in the International Fair of Plovdiv to the municipalities of Plovdiv and Varna; the failure to fulfil a decision by the Varna Municipal Council to return the local stake to the state; the award of the Varna stake as a contribution to the Puldin Tourinvest company, which resulted in a complete takeover of the Plovdiv Fair; an approval granted on December 19, 2022 by the Plovdiv Municipal Council for the award of the Varna stake as a contribution to Puldin Tourinvest; a boycott by the GERB party and councillors affiliated with Georgi Gergov against two extraordinary sittings of the Plovdiv Municipal Council; and the possibility for the Plovdiv Fair to be proclaimed "a multi-piece monument of culture" to prevent its destruction.

The reasoning supporting the motion to launch a parliamentary inquiry says that the Plovdiv Fair traces its beginnings back to 1891. Nowadays, it is the largest fair complex in Southeastern Europe occupying a total area of 352,000 sq m and an exhibition area of 137,831 sq m, half of it indoors. The complex has 19 multifunctional exposition halls and an up-to-date congress centre with 13 conference and seminar rooms.

According to the reasoning, Gergov, who is Russia's Honorary Consul in Plovdiv and holds Russian citizenship, has been trying for years to take full control of the Fair. He holds a 50.36% stake in it, but he should own over two-thirds of the capital to be able to make decisions single-handedly.