site.btaAnti-Corruption Fund Report Examines Performance of Bulgarian Anti-Corruption Institutions in 2024

The Anti-Corruption Fund (ACF) announced Thursday the findings in its annual monitoring report titled "Anti-Corruption Institutions 2024: A New Beginning", analyzing the performance of key Bulgarian institutions responsible for addressing high-level corruption. The report covers the work of the Prosecution Service, the Counter-Corruption Commission and the Commission for the Forfeiture of Illegally Acquired Assets (CFIAA). It was authored by ACF legal experts Andrey Yankulov and Daniela Peneva.

The authors point out that while 2023 was marked by a lack of institutional engagement with high-level corruption cases, 2024 saw a burst of activity, including the initiation of new criminal proceedings. However, these proceedings focused predominantly on political figures perceived as opponents of Delyan Peevski, the leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning, the report says.

In 2024, the Prosecution Service launched ten new investigations involving political figures considered to be in opposition to Peevski. According to Yankulov, this concentration of efforts raises questions about the impartiality and efficiency of prosecutorial actions.

Out of 66 high-level corruption cases monitored by ACF, only one new court ruling was delivered in 2024, and it was an acquittal. The number of final acquittals reached 16, compared to four convictions. The trend of prosecutors closing investigations before reaching court has also persisted, with 19 out of 39 concluded cases terminated during the pre-trial phase.

The report also evaluates the work of the CCC and CFIAA, both restructured or newly established in 2023 as part of an institutional reform. ACF concludes that systemic weaknesses identified in past years persist.

The CCC remains without an independently elected leadership, and its current management continues to operate under the previous structure. Court rulings have found that the commission’s leadership has not been constituted according to legal procedures. ACF further notes that the legal provisions governing conflict of interest cases have largely remained unchanged and retain existing shortcomings.

An analysis of CCC decisions issued in 2024 shows that out of 150 reviewed cases, a conflict of interest was established in 24. From 53 incompatibility proceedings, only six resulted in confirmed violations. Decisions finding no conflict of interest are not subject to judicial review.

The CFIAA has not published comprehensive data on its case outcomes. Based on publicly available decisions, ACF identified 350 concluded cases, 162 of which ended with final court rulings. Claims exceeding BGN 221 million were filed, but over BGN 211 million were dismissed by the courts. In addition, the CFIAA was ordered to pay more than BGN 9 million in court costs. Final rulings in favor of the commission amounted to BGN 3 million.

ACF also reported that the CFIAA withdrew a claim for BGN 1.3 billion in the case against banker Tsvetan Vasilev and was ordered to pay BGN 52 million in state fees.

ACF Director Boyko Stankushev is quoted as saying that the report findings once again indicate that the actual extent of high-level corruption remains largely undocumented in the official record. He noted that despite formal independence, the institutions continue to operate in a political environment that affects their decision-making.

According to Stankushev, meaningful change in the functioning of anti-corruption bodies is contingent on broader improvements in the rule of law and on reforms in public governance.

The full report, "Anti-Corruption Institutions 2024: A New Beginning", was prepared under a project supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Rule of Law Program for Southeast Europe and is available on the ACF website.