Bulgarian PM backs Prosecutor-General’s call for information on undeclared offshore holdings of top office-bearers
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov expressed support on May 17 for Prosecutor-General Sotir Tsatsarov’s request to the State Agency for National Security to provide information on the undeclared offshore holdings of top office-bearers and those close to them.
On May 15, Tsatsarov’s office announced that he had asked SANS for information on any properties, accounts and offshore companies held by senior public officials that had not been declared as required by law.
Reportedly, SANS was expected to send the information to the Prosecutor-General’s office by the end of May 17 or on May 20.
Tsatsarov’s move already has been backed by recently-appointed Justice Minister Danail Kirilov, who expressed hope that SANS had sufficient information on the matter.
At the same time, Borissov took a sideswipe at President Roumen Radev over the head of state’s succession of meetings with top judiciary officials to discuss the nomination process for the next Prosecutor-General.
The Prosecutor-General’s term of office expires in January 2020 and the procedure for choosing a successor is expected to begin about six months before then.
Borissov, without naming Radev, said that “one of the authorities” was messing with the independent judiciary.
Asked who was doing so, Borissov said: “I do not call the magistrates one by one to me”.
Radev’s first meeting, at the beginning of this week, was with Tsatsarov, who said it was too earlier to be talking about his successor.
Tsatsarov called on Radev to strictly adhere to the constitution, so that the consultations being held by the head of state would not be as an attempt to influence the process.
Subsequently, Radev has held meetings with Supreme Administrative Court President Georgi Cholakov and with Lozan Panov, President of the Supreme Court of Cassation.
