Sofia City Prosecutor's Office Initiated Pre-Trial Proceedings for Influence Peddling Following Journalistic Investigation

The Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office has initiated a pre-trial investigation following a report concerning possible influence peddling and abuse of office.

On 24 April 2026, the Prosecutor’s Office received a signal from the leaders of the political party Yes, Bulgaria! containing data from a journalistic investigation. It alleges possible negotiations and distribution of unlawful benefits linked to cases before the Supreme Administrative Court.

The signal was assigned to a supervising prosecutor through the random allocation system. After reviewing the submitted information, a pre-trial investigation was officially opened on 27 April 2026 for an offence under Article 283 of the Bulgarian Criminal Code.

The investigation will seek to determine whether official position was used to obtain unlawful benefit. All necessary investigative actions will be carried out to fully establish the facts in accordance with the law, including a comprehensive expert examination to verify the authenticity of an audio recording cited in the investigation.

The case has been assigned to an investigator from the Sofia City Investigation Service under the relevant legal provisions.