Deputy PM, minister and MEP named in Bulgaria’s cash-for-passport scam

A deputy prime minister, a minister and a Bulgarian MEP are allegedly responsible for illegally selling Bulgarian passports to foreigners, according to claims made by a whistleblower who provided a bundle of documents that appeared to confirm the accusation.

Deputy Prime Minister Krassimir Karakachanov, the former Justice Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva (now foreign minister) and MEP Andrey Kovatchev (from Boyko Borissov’s GERB party) are the most senior people accused of running the scam which had enabled thousands of foreigners to obtain Bulgarian passports for cash, and with them offering visa-free travel across the EU, the whistleblower said.

These allegations were made to EURACTIV by whistleblower Katya Mateva, a former director of the Council for Citizenship, a body participating in the decision-making of granting Bulgarian citizenship to foreigners. Mateva was fired by Zaharieva in 2016, after she refused to participate in the scam, she says.

EURACTIV invited Karakachanov, Zaharieva and Kovatchev to respond to the accusations against them and the latter two told this website they were “surprised” by the accusations, while Kovatchev later denied any responsibility.

“I would like to categorically and strongly reject these accusations and repudiate the insinuations made here,” Kovatchev told EURACTIV in emailed comments after the article was published.

The State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad was involved in a huge scandal after revelations that it issued fake certificates of Bulgarian origin, a document based on which Bulgarian nationality and identity documents can be issued.