site.btaAgriculture Minister Orders Closure of People's Store Chain

Caretaker Agriculture and Food Minister Ivan Hristanov announced at a briefing at the Council of Ministers on Wednesday that he is ordering the closure of the People's Store chain.

"Today, I am ordering the closure of the company in a way that minimizes losses for the people," Hristanov said. According to him, approximately BGN 2 million have already been spent out of the allocated BGN 10 million, and the remaining funds will be returned to the budget.

Hristanov added that the initiative had been "tragically discredited" for the Agriculture Ministry from the very beginning due to ties to a "notorious figure sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act," which cast a shadow over the project.

According to Hristanov, for the first three months, with projected revenues of BGN 1.48 million, actual revenues amounted to BGN 420,000, less than one-third of the target. Meanwhile, during this period, several individuals received a total of BGN 170,000 in renumeration, Hristanov added.

At the start of a Council of Ministers meeting on Wednesday, caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov spoke of major losses at the People's Store chain, requesting specific proposals and solutions from the Agriculture Minister regarding the case.

Earlier on Wednesday, the company said that the Board of Directors of the People's Store had submitted resignation letters.

In March 2025, the National Assembly approved the establishment of a state-owned commercial company tasked with operating a chain of stores selling essential food products with a maximum markup of 10%. The legislation provided for an initial capital of BGN 10 million and was introduced by Magnitsky-sanctioned Delyan Peevski's MRF–New Beginning.

In August, the Council of Ministers endorsed the establishment of the company - named People’s Store - as a sole-shareholder state enterprise headquartered in Sofia. A decree was also adopted to approve budget amendments for the Agriculture and Food Ministry for 2025, in connection with the establishment of the company.