Britain and the United States on February 10 announced sanctions on eight Bulgarian politicians who have served as members of parliament and held top government jobs in a coordinated action targeting corruption in the NATO and EU-member country.
The sanctions imposed by Britain target Bulgaria’s richest man, Vassil Bozhkov, former lawmaker Delyan Peevski, and former national security official and board member of Bulgaria's largest state energy company, Ilko Zhelyazkov.
The United States, which previously imposed sanctions on Bozhkov, Peevski, and Zhelyazkov, announced sanctioned against five current or former Bulgarian government officials “for their extensive involvement in corruption in Bulgaria.”
The five designated by the United States are Vladislav Goranov, former finance minister and ex-deputy from the GERB party; Rumen Ovcharov, former energy minister and a former member of parliament from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP); Nikolai Malinov, former member of parliament and the leader of a pro-Russia lobbying group in Bulgaria known as the Russophiles National Movement; and Alexander Nikolov and Ivan Genov, two former heads of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the activity of the five men "reflects a systemic pattern of personal enrichment at the expense of the Bulgarian people, government, and democratic institutions.”
The designations announced by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) are based on the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world.
The Magnitsky Act was used in 2021 to impose sanctions on Peevski, a former deputy representing the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS); Zhelyazkov, then-deputy chairman of the Bureau for the Control of Special Intelligence Means; and Bozhkov, who is accused of a number of charges in Bulgaria.
The new U.S. sanctions include two more of Malinov's companies, his party Russophiles for the Revival of the Fatherland, and Russophiles National Movement. Goranov's company Trilema Consulting also was blacklisted.
The Treasury Department noted that Malinov, who was arrested and charged in 2019 with espionage for spying for Russian-backed interests and barred from international travel, bribed a Bulgarian judge to allow him to travel to Russia to personally receive the Friendship Medal from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The behavior exposed today spans political parties and administrations, highlighting the urgent need to dismantle the networks that have for years perpetuated illicit activities, especially in the energy sector,” Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson said in the Treasury Department’s news release.
The U.S. measures against Ovcharov, Nikolov, and Goranov include visa restrictions against them and their families.
Britain's sanctions on Peevski, Zhelyazkov, and Bozhkov come under the British Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regime.
Blinken said the coordinated actions "demonstrate the commitment of the United States and Britain to promoting accountability for corruption, and to helping Bulgaria, a NATO ally, institute critical rule-of-law reforms."
The sanctions freeze any property held in U.S. jurisdiction by the individuals and entities. The designations also prohibit all dealings with the individuals in the United States and Britain.