In brief
Minister Nikolay Naydenov delivered remarks at a Sofia seminar, contending that punishment alone is insufficient and that the fight against organised crime must target its financial foundations. He highlighted Bulgaria’s recent removal from the FATF grey list and its push to transcribe the EU asset‑recovery directive into national law.
On November 3, 2026 in Sofia, Minister of Justice Nikolay Naydenov delivered remarks at a seminar titled "Strengthening Asset Freezing and Confiscation as Tools in the Fight Against Organized Crime and Corruption" organized by the French Ministry of Justice, France’s Agency for the Management and Recovery of Seized and Confiscated Assets, and the French Embassy in Sofia.
In his speech, the minister stated that in a state governed by the rule of law, crime cannot be a path to wealth or a means to power and privilege. He warned that the fight against crime must go beyond solving individual cases and must target the financial foundations that enable criminal networks to operate. The minister explained that cutting off financial flows, economic dependencies, and access to illicit assets is essential to deprive criminals of their resources.
The minister highlighted Bulgaria’s recent removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, a development announced by Prime Minister Rumen Radev on October 30. Naydenov said the removal was a key step in restoring confidence in the country’s institutions’ ability to combat money laundering and illicit financial flows.
He underscored the priority of aligning Bulgarian law with the new EU directive on asset recovery and confiscation.
The minister noted that four governments had come and gone between 2024 and 2025, yet none had achieved the necessary reforms. He said that over the summer the Ministry of Justice developed a concept for bringing the national legal framework into compliance with the European directive and prepared a bill based on the adopted conceptual approach. Public consultations on the proposed legislative approach were launched on October 30.
