Details of corruption revealed at Sofia Medical University.
Six people are indicted after the Combating Organized Crime General Directorate and National Security State Agency’s raid at Sofia Medical University. Two of them are university’s employees. The crime group had ensured and provided problem-free admission and graduation from the academic institution to foreign students. The former rector of the Medical University Mr. Vanyo Mitev is named as the group’s leader. The specialized prosecutor’s office has established that the company Inter Hecs, responsible for recruiting and hiring foreign students, has also participated in the plot.
The prosecutor’s office began their investigation of Sofia Medical University in September 2017 in relation to the admission and graduation of foreign student with fraudulent documents. Six people were indicted a week ago as a result of the raid by the Combating Organized Crime General Directorate and National Security State Agency at the university. Former official employees are included in the group while two of the six are still currently working at the university. Sofia Medical University’s former rector Mr. Vanyo Mitev is named as the crime group’s leader.
Persons of Arabic origin have been paying EUR 50 000 to enter “through the back door” at the Medical University.
The Head of the specialized prosecutor’s office, Ivan Geshev, commented that there are more than 20 students found to have entered through the so-called “back door”. Many documents have been seized from the university, and the investigation into illegally admitted and enrolled foreign students is expected to expand after reviewing all of the documentation.
“The Group has predominantly recruited applicants for the English language course at Sofia Medical University. Mainly citizens from the European Union and in particular from Great Britain – of Arabic origin, from Iran, from Iraq, Egypt, and Lebanon were recruited. The goal was to obtain a higher education diploma for the respective education at the Medical University, and the option to have legal residence status in the country, which is inevitably related to education and studying in Bulgaria ”, said Geshev.
The foreign students paid EUR 50,000 to be admitted through the “back door”. In addition, they were admitted without an entrance exam and a promise for a problem-free graduation from the university.
Combating Organized Crime General Directorate and National Security State Agency raided Sofia Medical University.
According to Geshev’s, each lecturer in the scandal received approximately BGN 5000 for each exam sold during the exam session. Some of the foreigners haven’t even completed secondary education. One of the accused, a UK citizen of Arabic origin, was the first point of contact with the foreign students. He would subsequently introduce them to the company “Inter Hecs” whose main task is the recruitment of foreign students.
“This company is owned by people who are part of the group indicted. The company was an entirely legal intermediary for recruiting foreign students until two years ago. The owners, managers, and representatives of the company had made high ranking contacts at the medical university. They have been in constant contact with each other”, Geshev also stated.
The manager of “Inter Hecs”, Sofiya Tsikandelova, however, denied categorically that the company has participated in the scandal related to admission of students into the university. She declared that, at present, she has been summoned by the prosecutor’s office only as a witness under the first suit against Mitev.
“We are all quite surprised by what’s happening – why exactly is our company under attack; we have no information. I absolutely deny to have supported and participated in such a plot” said Tsikandelova.
In addition, Mrs. Tsikandelova said that the diplomas and collected documents for admission into the university should have been checked by the Ministry of Education, and that the company has no responsibility for their legality.
The former rector of the Medical University under investigation: “This is just an attack, I have no guilt whatsoever and I am innocent. “
If found guilty, Vanyo Mitev could be sentenced to 5 to 15 years imprisonment. This will be a second indictment for Mitev, who, two years ago, was once again involved in document fraud related to the academic institution.
The other participants in the group will receive between 3 and 10 years imprisonment if found guilty. Since the group has generated a large amount of cash, Geshev says that a proposal has been put forth to the supervising prosecutors to set bail in the amount of BGN 200,000 for each of the accused.
If established that the foreign students have also executed documentary fraud, they will also be indicted.