In Bulgaria, the Democratic Bulgaria coalition has introduced a new legislative amendment bill aimed at ensuring the effective implementation of sanction regimes under the global Magnitski Act. The proposed bill envisions comprehensive changes to the Anti-Money Laundering Act. This initiative follows Bulgarian authorities' announcement that they are ready to cooperate with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The Ministry of Interior stated that they will provide full support in submitting corporate links, documents, and various evidence to OFAC. Democratic Bulgaria emphasizes that this cooperation will only be meaningful if backed by a legal framework.
According to the coalition's statement, establishing a robust legal infrastructure is of great importance to prevent the circumvention of international sanctions. The new rules being introduced are designed to directly impact the financial activities of sanctioned individuals in Bulgaria. In this context, all obligated persons under the law will be required to continuously monitor sanctioned individuals and those connected to them. The results of these complex reviews will be reported de facto to financial intelligence units. Thus, an attempt is being made to prevent the backdoor circumvention of the limitations created by international punitive mechanisms in the country.
Under the proposed changes, any financial transaction and commercial agreement carried out by sanctioned individuals will be directly considered 'suspicious.' These suspicious transactions will have to be reported to both financial intelligence and the National Assembly of Bulgaria, following general procedures. The primary goal of the bill is stated as ensuring the security of the country's financial system and minimizing money laundering risks. Additionally, it aims to create transparency and full visibility over the economic activities of sanctioned individuals. Through these steps, it is planned to enhance the effectiveness of international sanctions and protect the financial system.
The bill also grants the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) the authority to publish information regarding the bank accounts and safe deposit boxes of sanctioned individuals. However, during this public notification, the bank will not share the net value of the funds in the accounts. The sharing of this information will not be officially considered a breach of banking secrecy and will not constitute a crime. The new regulation also introduces a comprehensive definition of a 'sanctioned person' that covers penalties imposed by international organizations such as the EU, the United Nations, and the OECD, as well as member states. This clear legal definition aims to eliminate legal ambiguities that relevant institutions might encounter while performing their duties.
This development stands out as the newest episode in Democratic Bulgaria's previously failed efforts to ensure the strict implementation of Magnitski sanctions. The coalition had previously proposed similar amendments in 2025 to the laws on the Prevention of Terrorism Financing and the Prevention of Money Laundering, but this initiative did not pass the parliament. Magnitski sanctions were also one of the fundamental components of the 'sanitary cordon' (isolation line) strategy that was sought to be established around the controversial businessman Delyan Peevski in the previous term. However, due to the opposition of some political parties, this isolation line was breached, and subsequently, the 'Jelyazkov' cabinet was established in the capital. Now, despite all this political background, a new struggle has been initiated to implement the sanctions on a legal ground.
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