Following the information about Peevski's flights, the topic of "Magnitsky" has been brought up again, this time on the wings of airplanes. Will the Bulgarian authorities find violations of the law, asks Emilia Milcheva.
The dispute over whether constitutional judge Desislava Atanasova traveled with the MRF leader Delyan Peevski, who was sanctioned for corruption, is no longer news.
The flight report for the last three and a half years, prepared by the Directorate General of the Bulgarian Border Guard Service and the National Security Service, sent to parliament, does not simply describe trips - including one jointly by Atanasova and Peevski. The companions listed in the document outline part of a network that is not unknown to the public.
These names have previously appeared together with the oligarch's name, as part of behind-the-scenes circles and around the bankruptcy of Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB). But Delyan Peevski is not the center of this network, but rather a phase of its existence. How long it will last depends on the moment when the documents that Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev produces find a place in a criminal proceeding.
Everything else is a noise generator.
Who remains on the sign
In recent weeks, we have been watching how the second name disappears from the sign of the "Peevski-Borisov" model. Several processes are underway simultaneously: first, Peevski becomes the only symbol of the model; second, documents are being released that show the network around him.
In parallel, Borisov's political infrastructure remains relatively stable - personnel associated with his management model do not disappear from the institutions.
Last week, the website "Mediapool" revealed that Rumen Radev's government entrusted GERB personnel to complete in-house contracts worth billions, including the "Hemus" highway, landslide reinforcement, the contract for the guardrails, etc. Ivan Kunev, a former GERB municipal councilor and long-time head of the Regional Road Administration in Blagoevgrad, became the executive director of "Automagistrali". Ivelina Marinova, the sister-in-law of the former Minister of the Interior and current GERB MP Mladen Marinov, also retained her seat on the company's board.
Another GERB-connected figure - Ivanka Dineva, returned to head the "Medical Supervision", the body that determines how many new beds there will be in hospitals. Plamen Manolov, who managed the National Sports Base for a decade, was appointed head of the ViK-holding.
It seems that the two elements of the "Borisov-Peevski" model are starting to move along different trajectories. Political toxicity remains concentrated on Peevski, while Borisov retains a certain stability in the institutions. For example, as a reason for the GDBOP's inspection of Peevski's trips abroad, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev pointed out that "initial data has been received about possible influence peddling and the transfer of undeclared financial funds across the state border."
While the public is observing these processes, which Prime Minister Radev has never commented on, the services have collected flight data, and the names of some of Peevski's companions have even been explained in context. For example, businessman Alexander Staliyski. The services themselves find it necessary to note that he is associated with the "Kotaracites" circle.
The companions on board
But this circle became famous at the time when Boyko Borisov was mayor of Sofia. At that time, municipal councilors from the opposition criticized him for holding orders for the renovation of kindergartens, asphalting of streets, and metropolitan transport. According to the report, Staliyski boarded the plane with Peevski, although he himself denied traveling on a charter to Dubai on BNT.
Another passenger listed in the report is Alexander Angelov, who a decade ago denied being Peevski's lawyer, and today uses the name of one of his most trusted people. In his testimony before the temporary parliamentary commission investigating the circles surrounding Petyo Petrov-Pepi the Euro and Martin Bojanov-The Notary, the owner of Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB) Tsvetan Vassilev claims: "The attack on CCB was preceded by racketeering by Delyan Peevski. The racketeering was also expressed in writing through his trusted lawyer Alexander Angelov during our meeting in mid-May 2014". Over the years, offshore companies involved in deals linked to Peevski also turned out to be owned by Angelov.
In the National Assembly, Demerdzhiev announced that several private charter flights from Sofia to Istanbul for 122,880 euros were paid for by the law firm "Angelov, Andreev and Partners".
However, the former CEO of "Bulgartabac" Ventsislav Cholakov and Delyan Denchev, associated with the Plovdiv factory "Yuriy Gagarin", which produces cigarette packaging and filters, flew most often with Peevski.
What is happening with the "Magnitsky" sanctions?
Six years after the US, and later the UK, imposed sanctions on Peevski under the "Magnitsky" law for significant corruption, institutions in Bulgaria have taken action.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Interior will try to find out how and whether the "Magnitsky" sanctions were circumvented in paying for the flights. The Interior Minister has notified the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that data has been found on assistance provided by legal entities and individuals to sanctioned individuals to circumvent "Magnitsky".
So far, the only thing that Bulgarian institutions have done after the sanctions was to prepare a list of companies associated with the sanctioned individuals. In 2022, however, the Supreme Administrative Court declared the operation of this "blacklist" illegal.
All this time, law firms and lobbyists hired by Peevski have been trying to fight for his removal from "Magnitsky", and he himself has rebranded himself with the language of MAGA - anti-Soros, anti-NGO, for traditional values and a new world order.
A publication by "The Wall Street Journal" last fall revealed that GERB leader Borisov had also spoken with Donald Trump Jr. about easing Peevski's sanctions.
Initially, Borisov denied it, but a few weeks later he was already claiming that Peevski had been "unfairly" on the "Magnitsky" list and that he had even negotiated with the British Foreign Secretary to lift the sanctions. In an official position, however, the British Embassy in Sofia reminded Borisov that sanctions are not lifted through negotiations between governments - and remain in force.
Now the topic of "Magnitsky" has been brought up again, this time on the wings of airplanes. The real test is no longer whether someone has flown to Dubai. The real test is whether after these flights the country will go further from the runway.
This text expresses the opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and the DW as a whole.