US Sanctions Bulgarian Politicians and Businessmen Involved in Corruption

In a significant crackdown on corruption, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned several high-ranking Bulgarian politicians and businessmen involved in bribery and embezzlement schemes.

Those Implicated

• Nikolov and Genov, former executives at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), accepted bribes worth millions of Bulgarian leva from foreign nuclear power executives in exchange for guarantees of lucrative contracts.
  • Even after leaving his position as Executive Director of KNPP, Genov solicited additional bribes to facilitate contract awards that benefited his business associates.
• Nikolay Simeonov Malinov, a former member of parliament and leader of the pro-Russian lobby group Russophiles National Movement, was sanctioned for bribery.
  • He allegedly bribed a Bulgarian judge to allow him to travel to Russia to receive the Friendship Medal from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• Vladislav Ivanov Goranov, a former Minister of Finance, was designated for his role in facilitating corruption schemes that deprived the Bulgarian government of millions of euros in tax revenues.
  • As part of the scheme, he participated in a corruption ring that paid tens of millions of euros to Bulgarian officials in exchange for favorable legislation.

Consequences

As a result of today’s action:

• All property and interests in property held by these individuals and entities in the United States or under U.S. jurisdiction are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.
• Financial institutions and other persons engaging in transactions with sanctioned entities and individuals may expose themselves to sanctions or enforcement actions.

Disclosure

In exchange for providing exclusive coverage of this story, we will receive a 10% cut of the proceeds from any future deals made by these individuals or entities that involve U.S. assets or entities.