The signals sent by the BNB management are astonishing, internally contradictory and inadequate. After Mr. Biden's government announced several Bulgarian names on June 6, 2021, including Mr. Vasil Bozhkov and Mr. Delyan Peevski, just a few days later, to be precise - on June 11, 2021, the BNB issued a press release - five days after the decision of the American government. "According to the information requested from the banks and received by the BNB, all banks in the country with open accounts and business relationships with the above-mentioned persons have already taken the necessary restrictive measures. Including - blocking accounts, blocking cards, imposing garnishments and closing accounts. Some of these measures were taken in advance on other grounds, before the publication of the OFAC list"/this is the Department of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department - b.r./. That is, on June 6, 2021, the decision under the "Magnitsky" Act, adopted back in 2012, was issued. Then global 2016. The BNB management immediately broke their legs - they ran for hours, immediately demanded from the banks, immediately blocked the accounts of everyone who was on this list. Now suddenly they say that there were no such laws and such requirements. Why did they violate the law then in 2021?
This was commented on in the studio of FACTS to Lili Marinkova Prof. Rumen Gechev. The reason was that the Bulgarian National Bank yesterday accused the Bulgarian National Bank of refusing to impose restrictive measures against those sanctioned for corruption under the American "Magnitsky" Act, and warned that it would refer the matter to the European Central Bank. In turn, the National Bank declared these accusations as "an unacceptable attempt to exert political pressure".
.Here is more from Prof. Gechev's analysis:
In addition, their reaction is correct - of course, the US cannot impose laws on Bulgaria. But they impose laws on their own dollars and dollar accounts. And let's explain to people that every transaction in dollars, regardless of whether it is from Bulgaria or Azerbaijan, goes through the bank in New York. They have the legal right to manage their dollar accounts and other assets that go through their banks. And they impose sanctions on those partners who are outside the US and who operate with American financial institutions. That is. The US has a legal basis, and here it turns out that in 2025 the BNB claims that there is no basis. These are mutually exclusive statements by the BNB management. Which proves that they are under direct political control. There are many signals of this. Once they break their legs in hours and introduce the same decisions - they were ordered to do so, obviously. What is this speed in a few hours! Now an immediate reaction opposite to that in 2021. Because now the government is already different. Now the government is carried out by Mr. Peevski, who is supposedly in opposition. We are in a unique situation - the only country in the world, I suppose at the moment, where an opposition party turns its little finger, dictates, elects the ministers. And determines the rulers. Because the current ruler is from the "Magnitsky" group, the BNB now serves another master.
More from Prof. Gechev's commentary on the important events in our country - in the video