A1on is reporting that a businessman closely linked to Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski has received two million EUR in grants and state contracts over the past five years, under the SDSM governments led by Zaev and Kovacevski.

Goran Paunov is owner of the Pikcell group that produces and installs solar panels, which was co-founded by him and Kovacevski. Paunov was also the best man at Kovacevski’s wedding. Kovacevski announced that he has sold his share in the company when he was named Deputy Finance Minister in 2020, but he remains close to Paunov.

According to A1on, the company is not listed in the record of companies that have won public contracts. But another tool for reviewing public finances shows that it received 12 payments from the Government and the Innovation Fund, which include various forms of financial grants. The largest one of over 200,000 EUR was paid out well within Kovacevski’s term as Prime Minister.

Paunov has also set up another company, together with Bulgarian businessman and former Energy Minister Ilko Georgiev Jocev. Pikcell Group is also likely expecting to collect Government subsidies through another source – it was given a lot of land in the Tetovo industrial zone where it intends to build a solar panel plant together with Jocev’s company. These types of investments typically receive significant subsidies from the Government.