site.btaUPDATED Parliament Adopts at First Reading Amendments to Measures against Terrorism Financing Act

The National Assembly adopted at first reading on Wednesday amendments to the Measures against Terrorism Financing Act, proposed by the Council of Ministers. A total of 131 members of Parliament voted in favour of the decision, 25 were against, and 25 abstained.

It is proposed that the Registry Agency provide the technical capability to restrict access to registered information about beneficial owners in the Commercial Register, the Non-Profit Legal Entities Register, and the BULSTAT Register. The adoption of the proposed bill aligns with European Union law, specifically the implementation of Article 74 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640. With its adoption, Bulgaria will fulfil part of its commitments to improve conditions for the prevention of money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and to tighten control in the financial sector, including addressing specific weaknesses identified in existing legislation. This would enhance the efficiency of supervisory and state authorities, as well as the obligated entities under the law, the Justice Ministry said.

The bill also proposes increased penalties for violations. For example, if the act does not constitute a crime, the maximum fine for a natural person will increase from BGN 10,000 to BGN 15,000. If the violator is a legal entity or merchant, the property sanction will rise from BGN 50,000 to BGN 75,000. If the offender is an entity under the Measures Against Money Laundering Act, the proposed sanction will increase from BGN 100,000 to BGN 150,000.

The Bulgarian Association of Insurers has submitted an opinion expressing disagreement with the proposed amendments to the Insurance Code.

Aleksandar Ivanov of GERB-UDF emphasized that it is important for the bill to be supported so that Bulgaria can be removed from the grey list of countries under increased monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) due to concerns related to money laundering.

Dimo Drenchev of Vazrazhdane believes that in their eagerness to get Bulgaria off the list, the Justice Ministry may have "overdone it" and gone to the other extreme, which will further burden businesses.

Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev said that the bill does not aim to create additional administrative burden for Bulgarian businesses. According to him, an FATF recommendation points to the need to prevent convicted criminals or their affiliates from exerting influence through equity participation in financial and credit institutions. "We cannot effectively fight money laundering if we cannot clearly define the source, origin, and relevant economic or other connections of a person," Georgiev added.