The epidemic of cheap properties and undeclared terraces did not miss Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Krassimir Karakachanov, who was recently questioned about a property acquisition in 2017, but the topic subsequently subsided. The media blackout is, however, unfair because the price paid by Karakachanov is ridiculously low, and he has not declared a terrace of 117 square meters, just like the Chairman of the Committee for Combatting Corruption and the withdrawal of illegally acquired property (KPKONPI) (sic), Plamen Georgiev.

Consequently, Karakachanov’s property acquisition came at only EUR 380 per square meter. During the time of Karkachanov’s purchase, apartments in the same condominium had been sold for over EUR 1,200 per square meter.
The Property Register gives scarce information about Karakachanov’s deal, listing only the cadastral number of the site and the area of 0.000 square meters. However, the information in the Cadaster is definite: this cadastral number matches a two-level apartment, with a first level of 149.25 square meters and a second level of 61.02 square meter and terraces of 117 square meters.

Even without the terraces/balconies, there is no way that this 210 square-meter home with such a location and being a penthouse can cost the declared BGN 1,150 per square meter. In 2017, the same company, “Sofmetal 07”, sold an apartment of 70 square meters in the same building for BGN 176,024 or over twice the price – BGN 2,514 per square meter, and this unit is not a penthouse with a huge terrace.

On the other hand, there is no sign of this terrace in Karakachanov’s property declaration. Perhaps, like Plamen Georgiev, the Chairman of KPKONPI, the Deputy Prime Minister has decided that these are undivided shares that are not subject to declaration.

Like other senior politicians – a swap with an additional charge

Karakachanov’s declaration to the KPKONPI shows that he and his wife, who is a prosecutor at the Sofia Court of Appeals, have exchanged another penthouse of 164 square meters, valued at BGN 114,273 for their current one. Additionally, under the contract with the company, the two have paid an additional fee of over BGN 35,000. The total amount of the swap and the additional payment is BGN 184,273 and it does not match the declared price of BGN 264,273. A third price is entered in the Property Register – BGN 243,048.6.

There is not a single mention of a terrace of 117 square meters. However, if the size of the terrace is also taken into account, the Deputy Prime Minister’s deal falls below EUR 400 per square meter.

The company “Sofmetal 07”, which exchanged the apartment, is owned by Dimitar Hristov Nemski, a former partner of oligarch Grisha Ganchev. It is the successor of the company “Kemsteel”, which deals with scrap, and in 2014-2015 had an arms export license.

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