National Movement for Stability and Progress (NMSP), the junior partner in Bulgaria’s three-way ruling coalition, has attacked the Government for not taking the necessary steps to get its dues from the re-sale of former fixed-line telecom monopoly Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC).

The claw-back clause in the contract for sale of 65 per cent in BTC, signed in June 2004 with Viva Ventures, entitled the Cabinet to 10 per cent of the amount over 300 million euro in case of the telecom's re-sale. Viva Ventures was a special purpose vehicle set up by US private equity fund Advent International.

In 2006, Icelandic tycoon Thor Bjorgolfsson bought from Advent an option to acquire Viva Ventures, wrapping up the deal in 2007 and then immediately selling the telecom to US insurance giant AIG for 1.1 billion.

NDSP has argued that BTC switched owners twice and the 2006 sale happened before the end of the three-year period during which any sale by Viva Ventures had to be cleared by the Government.

Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin, who is also Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the economy, said last week that Bulgaria was seeking 80 million euro from Advent, the money it was due from the claw-back clause.

Source;Dnevnik.bg