In a statement, the US Department denounced Bulgaria’s “toxic dependence” on Russian energy.
The United States and Britain today imposed new sanctions on eight Bulgarians they accuse of corruption, including two former ministers and a prominent member of parliament.
The US Department of the Treasury, in coordination with our British partners, today sanctioned high-ranking officials for their widespread involvement in corruption in Bulgaria,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tweeted.
“We are determined,” he added, “in our fight against systemic corruption, which makes democratic institutions vulnerable” in this impoverished Balkan country plagued by a serious political crisis.
Among the people subject to sanctions is Vladislav Goranov, former finance minister from 2014 to 2020 in the government of Boyko Borisov.
He is accused of using his position to favor “oligarchs”, according to the US Treasury Department. Former energy minister, socialist Rumen Ovchanov, and two former directors of Bulgaria’s only nuclear plant in Kozloduy are suspected of “illegal activities” in connection with contracts with Moscow.
In a statement, the US Department denounced Bulgaria’s “toxic dependence” on Russian energy.
Pro-Russian movement leader Nikolai Malinov is also under sanctions for bribing a judge to get permission to travel to Russia. He had been charged with espionage and banned from traveling.
The US imposed economic sanctions and banned the named persons and their families from entering its territory.
It is the second time since June 2021 that Washington has applied the Magnitsky Act, which it adopted in 2012 to fight impunity at the international level, to Bulgarian citizens and entities.
On the list of people, former “media tycoon” MP Delian Peevski is subject to British sanctions, as is billionaire Vasyl Bozkov, who made his fortune in gambling.
The US ambassador to Sofia, Hero Mustafa, recently lamented that “none” of the individuals sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act are being prosecuted in Bulgaria. “We have seen that corruption has undermined the functioning and control of certain institutions.”
Bulgaria, which will hold its fifth parliamentary election in two years in early April, has failed to form a stable government and is experiencing an unprecedented political crisis since the collapse of the communist regime in 1989.
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
