Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov said on June 6 he has ordered to three ministers to probe data released by the Anti-Corruption Fund (ACF) NGO regarding a massive secret energy cartel.

Earlier in June, ACF published an investigation into the alleged cartel comprising over 150 companies owned by controversial businessman Hristo Kovachki, who for years had denied controlling any of them.

In the ‘Grass Head’s Holding Company’ investigation, ACF quoted internal documents proving that Kovachki directly owns all of these companies, including key energy companies such as the Brikel and Bobov Dol coal-fired power plants (TPPs), The businessman has repeatedly said he was just a consultant.

Zhelyazkov told MPs during hearing at parliament that he has tasked Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov, Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and Environment Minister Manol Genov to investigate the revealed information.

“I had the opportunity to get acquainted with the ACF’s material. It contains a number of allegations, which in their entirety can constitute a legitimate reason and sufficient data for self-referral to the prosecutor’s office,” Zhelyazkov said.

Two days earlier, parliament rejected a proposal by Change Continues-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) to set up a committee to probe ACF’s data.

DB said that it has notified the prosecution based on ACF’s investigation.

ACF shared internal documents containing evidence of coordinated actions by energy companies in Kovachki’s cartel and manipulation of prices on the free electricity market.

The NGO also said that the businessman’s companies have been siphoning off the profits of the holding’s coal-fired thermal power plants through fake transactions with so-called ‘buffer companies’, also owned by Kovachki.