12690 | 10 June 2025 | 13:36

The only obligation of the people working in these structures is to report a signal to the Ministry of Interior or the Prosecutor's Office for committed crime - fraud. However, from what was said in the media, it seems that such signals have not been

On the houses of horror - why were there no reports made?

 Petyo Dobrev

 Bulgaria suddenly found out that there were also houses of horror. I see and hear representatives of various state structures, politicians and journalists sharing their opinions about the suddenly emerging houses of horror. And I realize that the state structures are filled with people who are terribly ineffective for our country. I would even say that they are also terribly harmful.

 What are the facts that are known to me from media information? Have a few individuals taken advantage of the negligence of the various authorities and decided that by registering facilities under the Law on Tourism, they can later deceive and maintain the illusion for certain individuals that they can offer them lucrative social services.

 Individuals who have fallen for this deception suffer property damage as they pay for social services that they do not actually receive. This is because the service they receive does not meet the standards for quality social services. There is also a regulation that will be in effect from 2022. In short, this corresponds to the texts on fraud found in the Criminal Code.

 In one region, there are a number of government structures that are certainly aware of these scams. However, the loopholes in our regulatory acts practically prevent these structures from cracking down on this type of fraud. The only obligation of the people working in these structures is to report it to the Ministry of Interior or the Prosecutor's Office for the crime of fraud. But from what has been said in the media, it turns out that such signals have not been given.

 And here's the question - why haven't they been given? Considering Article 205 of the Criminal Procedure Code, we know that citizens and public officials are obliged to inform a pre-trial investigation body or other state body when they become aware of a crime being committed. And if it is said for citizens that they are publicly obliged, then for public officials there is no public obligation.

 Therefore, it's a matter of official duty. And here is the key issue of the question about the houses of horrors - the prosecutor's office must establish which public officials have had information that individuals mislead others by offering them a paid social service. And once these public officials have been identified, then it is time for the other question - whether they have not committed an official crime.

 Of course, at the same time, the perpetrators of the fraud must also be investigated. Knowing the state structures and the flow of information that reaches them for every such fraud, the officials who have such information number from 20 to 100. However, from practice in similar cases until today, it has become clear that the prosecutor's office has never initiated pre-trial proceedings against officials who have not fulfilled their duty to report a committed crime. That is why there will always be people who will take advantage of loopholes in regulations and attempt to profit by misleading others.

 The media activity of the Social Minister, as well as the medical supervision, remains only media. What and how should they check on facilities that are registered under the Tourism Act? If the Minister of Social Affairs wants to be active, they should check how many of the social services implemented in Bulgaria comply with the standards for their quality. And the medical supervision should check the quality of the health services that are part of the social services. The media can also exert pressure for such checks. Why is this check urgently needed? Because most social services were revealed before the Regulation for the Quality of Social Services was adopted.