The specialized criminal court has passed a 2-year suspended sentence, with a 3-year probationary period, on former energy minister Rumen Ovcharov in connection with the Bobov Dol Mines case, the specialized prosecution has announced.

He was found guilty of deliberately failing to exercise control over the mine’s executive director Plamen Stefanov, thus inflicting damages on the state of over 8 million euro. The court also upheld the civil claim against Rumen Ovcharov of the same amount.

The court passed the same sentence on Plamen Stefanov who inflicted damages on the state amounting to over 11 million euro, and upheld a civil claim against him of the same amount. The sentences are suspended because of the two defendants’ clean criminal records and because the crime was perpetrated 14 years ago.