Rousse Regional Court is holding sittings in a trial for European funds drainage and fraud involving real estate.

The trial was launched on January 17 2007. Four people were charged with fraud, among which head of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) youth organisation Uylian Spasov.

Representatives of regional administration will testify on February 28. These administrators processed false documents. Representatives of companies that lost funds because of the scheme will testify as well.

More than 20 prosecution witnesses gave their accounts on February 27. According to prosecution the four defendants managed to divert nearly 40 000 leva from the PHARE programme.

Additional charges involve property fraud carried out through false restitution of buildings in Rousse and Sofia.

Through the use of false documents Spasov managed to illegally restitute two buildings in Rousse worth 800 000 leva.