Bulgarian authorities crack down on illegal citizenship scheme in Sofia

Security agencies in Bulgaria, DANS (State Agency for National Security) and GDBOP (General Directorate Combating Organized Crime), are carrying out an operation in Sofia targeting a group suspected of illegally granting Bulgarian citizenship. Investigations focus on cases where citizenship was reportedly sold to third-country nationals. Authorities are conducting searches at several locations, BNR correspondent Nikolay Hristov reported.

Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev said that he filed a report with DANS in early March, requesting a full investigation of the Bulgarian Citizenship Directorate. The probe aims to uncover any intermediaries or interference throughout the citizenship procedures. The Ministry of Justice has fully cooperated by providing all the necessary information, added correspondent Dobrina Karambolova.

“To ensure transparency, I ordered video surveillance cameras to be installed in the interview rooms so that every interaction between these individuals and the Bulgarian state is recorded,” Georgiev said.