site.btaJustice Minister: Materials Published by Prosecution Service's Leadership Support My Calls for Urgent Reform

The materials published by the leadership of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria actually support my argument for the urgent need for qualitative changes in the management of the institution in the interest of justice, reads a position by Deputy Prime Minister and caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov, circulated by his Ministry’s press office on Tuesday.

The position came in response to a statement, published earlier in the day by the prosecution service, asserting that Yankulov's actions, in addition to undermining the prestige of the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office, also affect the authority of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The Minister commended the transparency demonstrated by the prosecution leadership in sharing information about an investigation of exceptionally high public interest, concerning a parallel justice network known as the "Eight Dwarfs" and the alleged corrupt involvement of a high-ranking magistrate from the European Union judicial system, including a summary of the testimonies of three witnesses in the case.

"I appeal to the prosecution leadership to apply the same standard of transparency regarding the witness statements and other evidentiary materials from all investigations into the 'Eight Dwarfs' network, concerning all other high-ranking magistrates, including administrative heads of key prosecution offices," the position reads.

Yankulov also noted the concealment of crucial details, such as the case number of the criminal proceedings, the name of the supervising prosecutor, portions of the communication dates, and the current status of the investigation.

The materials themselves contain extremely disturbing facts regarding an investigation of exceptionally high public interest, according to the Minister. 

He recalled that a prosecution report sent on June 3, 2025 to European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kovesi by then acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov stated:

"At present, based on the interrogations conducted so far, there is evidence supporting a reasonable suspicion of Ms. Teodora Georgieva's involvement in the criminal act aimed at generating certain financial benefits unlawfully, by accepting unregulated monetary sums of BGN 10,000 (EUR 5,000), as a 'guest' of [Petyo 'the Euro'] Petrov [a notorious power broker in the Bulgarian judiciary and a fugitive from justice] on the 25th of each month from 2019 to 2020."  

"This written statement, sent to the attention of the European Chief Prosecutor, leaves it completely unclear why the individual, who as of June 2025 was already reasonably suspected to have committed a corruption offence, has not yet been formally charged," Yankulov points out.

"It creates an extremely concerning impression that such criminal proceedings may be used for other purposes, such as discrediting, intimidation, or harassment," the Justice Minister adds.