The appointment of Ural Mehmed Kyazim as deputy regional governor of Dobrich region has raised questions and criticism due to his past, related to an investigation into the misuse of European funds, FAKTI learned.
By order of the Prime Minister of March 6, 2026, Kyazim was appointed to the post together with Milena Petrova, as part of the filling of the political cabinet in the Dobrich Regional Administration. By the same decision, the previous deputy regional governor Zhivko Zhelyazkov was dismissed.
However, the appointment raised questions due to older publications linking Kyazim's name to a scandal surrounding illegally received European subsidies. In 2009, media reported on a group of so-called. “fake farmers“, accused of embezzling funds from European agricultural programs through fictitious subsidy applications. According to information in the case, the court has left some of the suspects in custody on suspicion of illegally obtained funds.
Illegal subsidy schemes were a serious problem at the end of the first decade after Bulgaria joined the European Union. At that time, institutions investigated a number of cases of applicants for assistance who declared non-existent areas or activities in order to receive European funding.
Although similar cases date back more than a decade, the inclusion of a person associated in the past with similar investigations in the leadership of a regional administration raises questions about the criteria for appointments to the civil service. At present, no official position from the government regarding criticism of the appointment of Ural Kyazim has been announced.
Analysts note that such appointments often cause public discontent, especially when it comes to positions in the state administration that are directly related to the management of public resources, regional policies, and most importantly, the holding of parliamentary elections in a month.