EUR 50 000 bribe for admitting a foreigner into Sofia Medical University.
Source: https://www.24chasa.bg/novini/article/6684263
The former rector Vanyo Mitev has been charged as the leader of a crime group, recruiting students that did not meet the requirements.
Foreigners willing to study at Sofia Medical University, who did not meet the requirements, were paying about EUR 40 -50 thousand. The price for “fixing” the exams was about EUR 2 -5 thousand for each subject.
On Friday, the special prosecutors’ office filed charges and indicted the leader of the crime group and its five members.
The head of the special prosecutor’s office, Mr. Ivan Geshev, declared that “the leader is a former rector of the Medical University”. He refused to name by name academician Vanyo Mitev due to the presumption of innocence. (Mr. Mitev’s answer can be seen herein below). The criminal group included two current employees and officials in the university, one of whom is Professor Andon Filchev, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Medicine, two managers of student recruitment company who are relatives, and a foreigner from Great Britain of Arabic origin. They used a wide network of employees who either depended on them or got paid off by them.
“In my opinion, the number of the indicted people will increase” added Geshev.
The group, which has been under investigation for the period from 2015 to 2017, has recruited applicants for the English language course. They have falsified documents. The applicants were mostly from Great Britain, but of Arabic origin, mostly from Iraq, Iran, Egypt, and Lebanon. More than 20 people had been admitted during the scandal.
“The goal was to receive a diploma from the Medical University, which is inevitably connected with the receipt of a permanent residence status in the country”, said Geshev. That’s why a check and investigation were performed to see if there was a threat for national security, even in the absence of any data that suggests danger.
The British foreigner promoted the company in Great Britain, actively recruiting students. He recruited students that did not meet the educational requirements, but, had the financial resources. The intermediary process was conducted through the company “Inter Hecs”, whose manager is Anastas Tsikandelov. (More information to that regard could be find below)
The company was an official intermediary up until 2 years ago when it lost its license. Despite that it continued its business “even increasing the scope and volume thereof”. “The company’s people were in constant contact with the Medical University”, said Geshev. After being enrolled into the university, the students were promised that their exams would be “fixed”.
“Definitely, the purpose was not to study” said the head of the special prosecutor’s office.
BGN 100 000 were found in the home of one of the university’s current officials, hidden in a sterilizing machine.
“This could be super-modern money laundering”, the head of the special prosecutor’s office said jokingly.
The court has ordered the six people indicted to pay bail in the amount of BGN 200 000 each, or in total of BGN 1 200 000, due to the “serious income, generated from the activity thereof”. This order could be appealed before the special court.
“This is definitely not the intended attitude towards medical professional and lecturers. My opinion is that in every country, where high interest and demand exists towards something, there are ways to find paths to work around the rules and system, including using bribes and payments.” said Geshev.
Academician Mitev is already a defendant in another case in Sofia City Court for mismanaged transactions, illegal admittance of foreign students and irregularities with outsourced medical training in Switzerland and Italy.
Academician Vanyo Mitev: “I am with a clear conscience; all the accusations are for things that happened when I was no longer rector.”
Yaroslava Prohaskova: “Academician Mitev, what is your comment regarding the information disclosed by the prosecutor’s office? “
Vanyo Mitev: “I have, a clear conscious and so undisturbed by these accusations, that and I have nothing more to say. They have nothing to do with me. And this will become clear and obvious very soon. I just heard of some 20 students, who have complaints or who have been admitted unduly and irregularly, but all that happened when I was not a rector. “
Yaroslava Prohaskova: “Will you pay the bail guarantee of BGN 200 000?”
Vanyo Mitev: “Of course, I will appeal it. This is simply madness, I have no words. What is this bail? What is this monstrosity? I truly have no idea. When I went to the investigators, I had no idea what the reason for my going there was. When I read the accusations, I just said that I understand nothing. I was accused of things that have happened when I was no longer a rector. I was rector up until April 14th 2016. The other thing thrown around was about some cell. What cell?
In this so called organized crime group there is a company, which recruits students. My name is included as a former rector, the name of Professor Filchev, the present Dean of the Faculty of Dental Medicine, who is an exceptionally decent man, and the name of a student, whose name means nothing to me. This is the so called group.”
“Inter Hecs” had planned on opening a branch of the Medical University in Petrich.
Atanas Tsikandelov, MD, was born in Petrich, but lives in Sofia from many years. During 2015, an agreement was entered into with Sofia Medical University to open a training center for foreign students in Petrich. Basically, the idea was for them to study and to be trained as registered medical nurses, midwives, rehabilitators and specialists on medical cosmetics with tuition fee of about EUR 8000. The branch would have been managed by Tsikandelov and his wife Sofia.
First, it was expected that the students would be mostly from Greece, with the company of the physician’s wife and his son – Dimitar – “Inter Hecs” – taking care of the recruitment. However the idea remained unrealized. According to the Commercial Register, the company is registered in Petrich, but its main place of business activity is Sofia.