site.btaUPDATED Central Bank, Continue the Change Clash over Banks' Handling of Sanctioned Individuals

Bulgaria’s central bank and the Continue the Change (CC) political party Wednesday clashed over the handling of individuals sanctioned under the US Global Magnitsky Act, particularly Delyan Peevski, a prominent political figure designated for corruption.

It all started when CC leader Assen Vassilev in late July asked the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) why Municipal Bank provides banking services to the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), whose present leader Peevski has been sanctioned by the US and the UK for major corruption. Vassilev cited BNB instructions of June 2021 for banks to apply restrictive measures under the Money Laundering Act.

The measures in question include blocking bank accounts and cards, freezing of assets and closing bank accounts. In November 2021, the BNB said that all banks in Bulgaria having business relations with such individuals had taken the requisite restrictive measures.

In a Wednesday position, Continue the Change accused the central bank of failing to act and warned that they would escalate the issue to the European Central Bank.

In response, the BNB emphasized it operates strictly within the national and European legal framework, stating it cannot oblige banks to act without specific legal authority. The central bank clarified that decisions regarding client relationships are within individual banks' discretion and that any disclosure of account information would violate banking secrecy laws.

BNB condemned CC’s public accusations as an "unacceptable attempt to exert political pressure". It also argued that CC essentially demanded disclosure of confidential data and regulatory action without a legal basis, and argued that both are inappropriate and unlawful.

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".