Iskra.bg received information regarding a report note submitted by Stanimir Apostolov – Deputy Mayor for „Finance, Budget and Economy and Maritime Affairs“ in Burgas. It is aimed at providing the local authority with access to information on bank balances and the movement of the accounts of the sole trading companies belonging to the Municipality. According to the proposal, company managers must provide daily information in relation to financial management and control, with a view to legality and transparency.
The sender of the report claims that this is an extremely strange decision of the Deputy Mayor for Finance Stanimir Apostolov. According to him, in this way the local authorities will have the necessary information – which enterprises have more funds and thus they can be appropriated.
Our editorial team contacted an economist to whom we disclosed, without going into details, the decision of the deputy mayor for finance. The expert’s opinion is that this is personal interest and is done with the aim of benefiting a given company. According to him, such information is not needed by a municipality, but he cannot be specific about the matter.
We also contacted Stanimir Apostolov, who proposed this report note on access to the bank accounts of municipal enterprises. He told Iskra.bg:
„This information is needed for better operational efficiency. Commercial companies, which are 100% municipal property, are owned by the Municipal Council. In order to receive this information from the banks, we need the consent of the City Council.“
Asked: Once the financial status of an enterprise is known and it is seen which of them has more funds, is there not a danger of misappropriation of these funds? Stanimir Apostolov firmly denied that the purpose of this report is to embezzle funds from municipal enterprises and reiterated that it is about better operability of funds.
In the report note, the Deputy Mayor for Finance argued that this proposal was in line with legislation and that it was necessary for the effective management and control of commercial companies. He proposed a solution consisting of an access consent and an obligation for company directors to provide information. The report note would be considered by the committees before a decision was adopted by the City Council.
Stanimir Apostolov is an economist with experience in the field of accounting, finance and control. In recent years, he has been Deputy Chairman of the Municipal Council-Burgas, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee on Budget and Finance and a member of the Standing Committees on Legal Affairs and Sports. From 2015 to February 2023, he was a member of the UDF, and in the last local elections he was the leader of the list for municipal councilors of the Conservative Union of the Right in Burgas. At the current stage, Stanimir Apostolov has been appointed by GERB as Deputy Mayor for Finance in the Municipality of Burgas, responsible for the „Finance, Budget and Economy“ department.
The question arose: What is the real reason for this decision of the Deputy Mayor for Finance? We can’t answer for sure at this stage, but time will tell if it’s a matter of self-interest, misappropriation of money or company, or there’s another reason!
