Jasmina Kostadinova, an employee of the Ministry of Agriculture, received ten months in prison for accepting a bribe of EUR 2,000 in the case involving the director of the Agency for Promotion of Agricultural Development, Ilija Stoilev.
At the last hearing, she pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe for mediating for a company to receive money from the IPARD program.
Kostadinova, who defended herself from house arrest, will also have the period from November 5, 2025, counted towards serving her sentence. Kostadinova agreed to remain under house arrest and the court extended her measure.
The court rejected her request for a refund of EUR 6,000, and by a court decision all EUR 8,000 that were seized during the police search will be confiscated. The trial for the remaining defendants will resume on May 11.
“Her role was crucial in the Ministry to be able to carry out and undermine trust in the administration. The misuse of funds can have far-reaching consequences, and the money for farmers was blocked,” said Judge Lenka Davitkova while reading the verdict.
