Hristo Daskalov, who revealed large-scale corruption at the checkpoint with Turkey several months ago, has been dismissed as head of Bulgaria's food safety body, caretaker Deputy Agriculture Minister Krum Nedelkov has announced.
This is yet another removal of a key expert appointed by the former reformist government of Kiril Petkov since the change of government in June.
Daskalov, along with former deputy agriculture minister Ivan Hristanov, revealed corrupt practices related to testing of imported food at the checkpoint with Turkey.
Prime Minister Kiril Petkov announced in June that there had been no recordings of phytosanitary controls of food imported via Kapitan Andreevo — the busiest checkpoint in Europe — for 10 years. One MP from Petkov’s Change Continues party claimed that large amounts of heroin were trafficked through the checkpoint. The European Commission has since announced an audit of the checkpoint.
The revelations caused a political stir in Bulgaria. Hristanov said he was threatened, and was placed under police protection. Daskalov, meanwhile, said he was offered a substantial bribe in order to let the private company Evrolab 2011 continue taking care of phytosanitary controls at the checkpoint. However, in mid-August, the prosecution refused to charge Plamen Mollov, dean of the food technologies university in Plovdiv, with trying to bribe Daskalov, despite a wiretapped conversation between two men, who were identified by their voices as Daskalov and...
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