site.btaJustice Minister Adamant that Sarafov Cannot Continue as Acting Prosecutor General

The statutory time limit introduced by the legislature for temporarily performing the duties of Prosecutor General is six months, yet Borislav Sarafov has held the post for nearly three years, and in this situation there is no way he can continue to perform the functions of Prosecutor General, said caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov on Nova TV on Saturday. Yankulov noted that the Constitutional Court has ruled without any doubt that Sarafov can no longer hold this position. "I assume that the Supreme Court of Cassation will in no way delay its ruling, precisely because it is aware of how important it is," he commented.

On April 8, the Supreme Court of Cassation announced that interpretative proceedings had been initiated on the question of whether, after July 21, 2025, acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov, appointed before the entry into force of Article 173(15) of the Judicial System Act, has legal standing to request the reopening of a criminal case.

"What we are observing is that a political solution to the case is being expected," Yankulov said in the televised interview, commenting on what should follow if the Prosecutors Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council once again decides not to vote for Sarafov's removal. "This can be inferred not only from the behaviour of Sarafov himself and the Prosecutors College, but even from the conduct of the main political forces, which seem to expect this issue to become some sort of bargaining chip in consolidating either the next governing majority or the majority that will elect the future composition of the Supreme Judicial Council of Bulgaria."

According to the Justice Minister, the Sarafov case is so clear that it should under no circumstances become a bargaining chip on the political stage. "This case must remain on the legal ground. If the legal system truly wants to give real substance to the principles of independence, objectivity and absence of political influence, it should have resolved it many times over by now. Instead, we see the opposite. Since we see the opposite, this should give a clear indication that the legal system is neither independent nor, apparently, does it wish to be independent," Yankulov said.

Asked what Sarafov has been doing, what he has or has not signed in recent months, Yankulov replied: "We do not know what Sarafov is currently doing, as there is complete lack of transparency in his actions." According to the minister, Sarafov is accountable to no one, and no one particularly seeks accountability from him among the bodies that should be doing so. In Yankulov's view, the last parliament created institutional comfort for Sarafov, in which he is not being held to account for anything. "Therefore, no one knows exactly what he is doing, as he is effectively uncontrolled and unaccountable," Yankulov added.

The Justice Minister also commented on the case of acting Sofia City Prosecutor Emilia Rusinova, who stated a few days ago that the purpose of everything happening around her name was to publicly discredit her. "I do not know what exactly Ms Rusinova refers to as unverified and untrue claims; I did not see her deny her close contacts with Petyo 'the Euro' Petrov, the leader of the criminal network The Eight Dwarfs. Close contacts in the form of travelling in the same vehicle across the country's border. As well as, apart from Petrov, with another individual connected to this criminal network, but acting as a lower-level front man – Kristian Hristov," said Minister Yankulov. Asked whether a previous Interior Minister could have shed light on this joint trip, Yankulov said that another Interior Minister and other institutions should have acted long ago. "The main institution that should have acted as soon as the case emerged is, of course, the Prosecution Service," he added.

Asked why this had not been done, Yankulov replied that the only logical reason was precisely the extent to which this criminal network had infiltrated the higher levels of the institution. This is what led to the lack of a timely response both from the prosecution and from the Supreme Judicial Council, he added.

Yankulov also commented on the issue of appointing a new Bulgarian European Prosecutor, noting that efforts are now being made to launch a transparent procedure for selecting candidates to be sent to the selection panel at EU institutional level, which will advance the process accordingly. "Unfortunately, the procedure carried out in recent months did not meet the requirements for independence of the panel, its political neutrality, or clear and transparent rules, and this led to the need for the procedure to be terminated and for the nominations to be withdrawn by the current government," Yankulov said.