Auditors appointed by shareholders will probe the bookkeeping of Assenovgrad Tabac, a unit of Bulgarian tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac Holding, the company said on February 14 2008 in a filing with the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

Auditors Yanitsa Dinkova and Georgi Dinkov, appointed by Assenovgrad Tabac shareholders, will check the books of the state-run company, in particular that the company complied with the Trade Act and the Securities Act, in particular article 114, which regulates management of assets above a certain value and without the permission of the general shareholders assembly.

However, the company would not be declared bankrupt just yet.

The shareholders, of which Bulgartabac Holding is the biggest with 83 per cent, rejected the annual report of the board of directors and the accumulated loss analysis, nor has it decided whether to seek responsibility from individuals allegedly liable for damages and forgone benefits, which include. Among the alleged perpetrators are some members of the company’s board of directors.

The company purchases and stores tobacco, and has no production facilities.