Bulgaria Revoked 12 “Golden” Passports in Past Three Months

Jerusalem, 8 December, 2022 (TPS) -- BRUSSELS, 08.12.2022 (BTA)
In the last three months, Bulgaria has revoked 12 “golden” passports and the procedure is ongoing for another five, Bulgarian Justice Minister Krum Zarkov said in a BTA interview after attending a closed session of a monitoring group on democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights in the European Parliament.

He noted that the issue of citizenship for investment – widely known as “golden passports” – was raised at the monitoring group’s meeting.

Zarkov specified that Bulgaria has so far issued a total of just over 120 such passports. The State Agency for National Security is probing each of these cases, he added.

The Justice Ministry has demonstrated that when clear data comes in, we do not hesitate to ask the President to revoke somebody’s citizenship, the Minister said. He added that after legal changes were passed by the previous National Assembly, he signs the applications for citizenship revocation once it is established that the investment used to obtain citizenship is non-existent.

“MEPs asked me about many things, mainly about the Prosecutor General and the issue of his place in our constitutional order,” the Minister also said adding that he briefed them on the latest version of a bill concerning the accountability of the Prosecutor General, that is based on a bill by former Justice Minister Nadezhda Yordanova and also reflects Venice Commission recommendations.

“The efforts of the Bulgarian Government to introduce very important and anticipated reforms in the area of justice are appreciated. The European Parliament’s Democracy Monitoring Group is aware of the difficulties, but I think they appreciate the political will and the rhythm with which we are working. Both they and I know that the final decision is for the Bulgarian Parliament to make, so this remains an open issue,” Zarkov said.