Former Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian Army, General Zlatan Stoykov, has testified in favor of former Defense Minister, Nikolay Tsonev, who is facing charges over a public procurement tender.
In this particular trial, the ex minister who is also charged with bribing an investigator in a separate case, is tried because in the period February 12 – June 1, 2009, as a defense minister, he allegedly abused his power by allowing Stoykov to purchase the purchase of an US assembly line for the construction of hangars, warehouses, army barracks, and for the supply and storage of food.
According to the Sofia City Prosecutor, Tsonev committed abuse of power asDefense Minister and concluded the deal with the goal to provide benefits for the company "MIC INDUSTRIES" and its representative, leading to material damage for the institution in the amount of nearly BGN 13 M. The non-material damage involves disturbing the schedule for army training.
Gen. Stoykov told the Sofia City Court on Thursday that the assembly line was supposed to help the Bulgarian Army reconstruct some of its facilities that were built back in the 1950s and 1960s.
Stoykov also state that when Bulgarian soldiers come back from missions abroad, they need to be accommodated in conditions that are in compliance with the European standards and the NATO requirements.
In his words, the standard could have been reached with the military equipment in question. He confirmed that the money for the purchase had come from the budget of the Bulgarian Air Force, but claimed that it came from money saved from other public procurement orders.
The former Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian Army has also stated that he did not exert pressure on the Head of Defense (i.e. his successor as the post was renamed to Head of Defense), General Simeon Simeonov, to sign the documents for the purchase of the acquisition.
Novinite
