Bulgarian National Bank denounces political interference and rejects calls to breach bank secrecy or act without legal basis on Magnitsky sanctions

The Bulgarian National Bank published a statement rejecting a position circulated by the political party We Continue the Change via the Bulgarian News Agency claiming the central bank is unable to protect Bulgaria’s banking system from persons sanctioned under the Magnitsky regime. The central bank characterised the statement as an impermissible attempt to exert political pressure by a parliamentary party, contrary to the law and the country’s institutional order. The Bulgarian National Bank said the party’s chair was effectively demanding two actions: disclosure of banking secrecy outside the legally prescribed procedure and the undertaking of actions or issuance of acts without a legal basis. It stressed that information on balances and transactions in bank accounts of specific natural and legal persons is protected as banking secrecy, and that disclosure outside the statutory framework would be a serious breach, noting that members of its Governing Council swear to uphold these rules. On third-country sanctions, it pointed to an unresolved legal vacuum on the domestic consequences of such measures and warned that central bank actions without an explicit legal basis would be legally void, adding that relevant government acts on the issue had already been annulled by a court and that attempts to shift the problem to the central bank infringe its independence. The Bulgarian National Bank said it will continue to apply the existing legal framework and that any additional responsibilities could be assigned only through legislation adopted in line with the European legal framework applicable to the European System of Central Banks.