site.btaDemocratic Bulgaria Moves for Hearing on Suspended Pharmaceutical Warehouse Investigation

Democratic Bulgaria entered a motion on Tuesday for a hearing of State Agency for National Security (SANS) acting Chair Stancho Stanev, as well as SANS senior officials Plamen Stoyanov and Petko Gospodinov, over a suspended inspection of pharmaceutical warehouses. 

"Data has been disclosed during an interview on the Off Air Programme by Yasen Tokuschiev, presented as a former head of the Healthcare Sector within the SANS Economic Security and Critical Infrastructure Directorate. According to the data disclosed, at the end of August 2025, SANS held a large-scale inspection jointly with the Bulgarian Drug Agency and the Sofia Regional Health Inspectorate, targeting warehouses for trade in medicinal products," the motion reads. 

According to Tokuschiev, the warehouses were owned by traders about whom SANS had information that turnover was padded by diverting medicines from the supply chain and possible siphoning off public funds from the budget of the National Health Insurance Fund. While the officers were on the ground, the inspection was unexpectedly suspended on an order from SANS supervisors, instructing them to abort their investigation and leave.

"The revelations come as confirmation of the doubts expressed by the political party that there are developments in SANS regarding potential serious corruption activities in the healthcare sector and more specifically at the National Health Insurance Fund," the motion says further.

Last week, the party said on the sidelines of Parliament that there was a problem in the Bulgarian healthcare system and billions of euros were being stolen. "We are lifting the lid a little on the corruption schemes in healthcare and we hope that, if there is a real will to change the model, this lid will be lifted completely," said Democratic Bulgaria Co-chair Bozhidar Bozhanov.