Emergency legal amendment clears path for sale of Lukoil refinery

"Today, we have received confirmation that Lukoil has finally found a buyer for the Burgas refinery. We did not learn this through an official letter from Lukoil, but via an emergency amendment inserted into a draft law," he told journalists in parliament, as reported by BGNES.

According to Mirchev, MPs from DPS-New Beginning want the purchase approved by the State Agency for National Security (SANS), not out of concern for Lukoil or the national interest.

"Because Delyan Peevski (who is sanctioned under the global Magnitsky Act) is not involved in the deal, but he controls SANS, this change is being introduced so the transaction can proceed with his approval," he said.

Mirchev linked the rushed actions to a Wall Street Journal report, claiming that GERB leader Boyko Borisov held unofficial talks with the son of former US President Donald Trump about transferring Bulgarian strategic assets in exchange for lifting Magnitsky sanctions.

Bozhidar Bozhanov, the other co-chair of Yes, Bulgaria, said the refinery’s buyer is Russian. He added that a mechanism already exists for screening foreign investments, through which all Russian investors — hidden or overt — must be vetted by SANS, rendering legislative changes unnecessary, according to a report by BTA.