The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office and the Constitutional Court have launched investigations after Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev presented official data from the Directorate for the Prevention of Corruption and Corruption, according to which, over a period of 8 years, Delyan Peevski has implemented 227 flights from Sofia airport with private airlines valued at around €1.8 million. The most public outcry was caused by the information about a joint flight from Sofia to Dubai on April 5, 2024, on which Desislava Atanasova was also on board, just days after taking office as a constitutional judge. Data was also presented that Peevski had flown dozens of times to Vienna and Dubai in the company of former managers of “Bulgartabac“ such as Ventsislav Cholakov and Delyan Denchev.
Details about financing and routes
According to the Ministry of Interior's report, the flights of the politician sanctioned under the global “Magnitsky“ law were carried out mainly to Istanbul, Vienna and Dubai. The data show that:
Some of the flights are operated by the company Hyperion Aviation Ltd. The payments went through a law firm associated with Peevski's long-time legal representative – Alexander Angelov. The lists of those who traveled with him include a total of 81 persons.
The reactions of the parties involved
Delyan Peevski and MRF: The MRF leader categorically rejected the accusations, defining them as “manipulations and untruths“, and stated that not a single sanction works in Bulgaria. He added that no state funds were spent. His lawyer Hamid Hamid and former Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov accused Demerdzhiev of spreading "false reports" and illegally using the PNR (Passenger Name Record) reservation system, which is intended only for combating terrorism. Stoyanov even filed a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office and the National Security Agency for unauthorized access to personal data. Desislava Atanasova and GERB: The constitutional judge distributed pages from her international passport and a certificate from the SDVR to prove the objective facts about her travels. GERB-SDF defended Atanasova with the argument that she left the party structures in early 2024 and the private life of citizens cannot be politicized. Constitutional Court: Constitutional Court President Pavlina Panova announced that the institution is investigating the case, but there are no legal mechanisms for response or sanctions in such cases.
Political response and demands for resignations
The revelations caused a violent reaction among other political forces:
Demands for resignation: Representatives of „Democratic Bulgaria“ (Ivaylo Mirchev) and party leaders from „Vazrazhdane“ insisted on the immediate resignation of Desislava Atanasova from the Constitutional Court.
Financial motive: Deputies from „Progressive Bulgaria“ (Milen Trifonov) stated that the moral problem is not the trip itself, but who and how financed these flights, demanding full transparency to the public.
Prosecution's actions: The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office (SGP) has already requested the full set of operational materials from the Directorate for the Prevention of Crime and the National Police to verify whether there is evidence of a crime.
Sources: BTA, NOVA, Bulgarian National Radio, Club 'Z', Mediapool, bTV Novinite, Sega