site.btaWhether Sarafov Can Legally Serve as Acting Prosecutor General Is Not Decided by Parliament, MRF - New Beginning Leader Peevski Says

Whether Borislav Sarafov can legally serve as acting chief prosecutor is decided by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the Prosecutors College, not by parliament, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) - New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski said, responding to a BTA question in the lobby of the National Assembly on Wednesday.

"This is decided by the SJC and the Prosecutors College, not by us," Peevski said.

In June 2023, Borislav Sarafov was appointed acting Prosecutor General by the Prosecutors College of the SJC. In January 2025 Parliament passed changes to the Judiciary Act that limit to a maximum of six moths the term of someone serving as “acting” in high judicial posts, including the Prosecutor General. With two rulings at the beginning of October, the Supreme Court of Cassation challenged the legitimacy of the acting Prosecutor General, causing controversy.

Regarding a proposal by Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) leader Rumen Hristov for a two-year “legal cooling-off period” for the presidential institution, Peevski said he would be strongly opposed to it. Earlier on Wednesday, speaking to Bulgarian National Television, Hristov said that he believes the head of state should be restricted from engaging in political activity for a period of one and a half to two years after the end of his term.

"[President] Rumen [Radev] should come out and form his party with Koprinka and Uzunov, with all the profiteers and the money he pocketed from Bulgarian citizens over the past five years. I want him out in the field," Peevski said. He referred to the President's Domestic Policy Secretary Nikolay Koprinkov, allegedly involved in corruption through public procurement and Plamen Uzunov, legal advisor to the President and former Secretary for Legal Affairs and Anti-corruption, charged in 2020 with criminal conspiracy and misconduct. The case was closed in 2023 after prosecutors found no evidence of criminal activity.

Regarding the state-run chain of stores (People’s Store), the leader of MRF - New Beginning said that "parliament has done everything necessary" and he expects action from Agriculture and Food Minister Georgi Tahov.

In August, the Council of Ministers endorsed the establishment of a sole-shareholder state-run company, called People’s Store. In March, the National Assembly approved the creation of this state-owned commercial company, which will operate a chain of stores selling essential food products with a maximum markup of 10%.

On the article in The Wall Street Journal, which claims that Boyko Borissov spoke with Donald Trump Jr. and that the Magnitsky sanctions issue was also discussed, Peevski said that this was a commissioned article. The article reads that former Prime Minister Borissov was “seeking relief from US Magnitsky Act sanctions for some of his close allies.”

In 2021, Peevski was designated by the US under the Global Magnitsky Act as an oligarch who "has regularly engaged in corruption, using influence peddling and bribes to protect himself from public scrutiny and exert control over key institutions and sectors in Bulgarian society". Peevski is challenging the designation in a US court. His lawyers argue that there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by their client.

In 2023, the UK sanctioned Peevski for his involvement "in attempts to exert control over key institutions and sectors in Bulgarian society through bribery and use of his media empire".