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Geshev Unchained
The new Bulgarian Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev moved into first gear from the outset, picking fights with oligarchs, rural criminals and even the president himself. Is he aiming at something bigger than just crime busting?
Seventeen moments of autumn
The recent spate of "spying scandals" involving Russian diplomats and the leader of Bulgaria’s National Russophile Movement Nickolay Malinov are more reminiscent of a bad Soviet-era joke rather than a real espionage drama
A new old gatekeeper of status quo
Ivan Geshev, a self-described "boy from the city’s suburbs", will become Bulgaria’s next prosecutor general in January. His selection will have dramatic implications for the rule of law
Cracks under GERB’s feet
While local election results seemed to prove that the ruling party has survived a series of scandals and debacles, signs are that control is slipping through Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s fingers
Witch hunter General
The selection of Ivan Geshev as the next Prosecutor General will likely go unopposed, triggering seven more wasted years on the anti-corruption front and even more blatant institutional abuse of power.
GERB’s real (estate) troubles have just begun
A series of real estate scandals involving senior politicians, predominantly from the ruling GERB party or with ties to it, triggered hitherto unseen public outrage and serial resignations. The more profound effects are still to be felt
The Venezuelan Connection
Bulgaria’s national security agency has launched a probe into potential laundering of money from Venezuela via local private lender Investbank
When it walks like corruption, when it quacks like corruption
While the Bulgarian authorities appear to be cracking down on some allegedly corrupt officials and businessmen, oligarchic interests favored by those in power receive a significant economic boost
Behind the prosecution’s smokescreen
The sudden flurry of conspicuous law enforcement activities is a two-pronged campaign
Bulgaria's feckless fight against graft
Lack of public support, insufficient institutional capacity and political power plays prevent meaningful anti-corruption policy
Reform of the Judiciary? Only if the Prosecutor General allows it
Investors in Bulgaria must be constantly on the lookout for whether their company might be stolen by means of documentary fraud, fake proceedings, or a competitor with good ties to the government
Five Years After
Bulgaria’s will to protest might seem exhausted in the years following the summer of 2013, but dissatisfaction with the country’s politics still simmers
Three risks to a smooth presidency
Bulgaria’s presidency of the Council of the EU is likely to run well but corruption, ultra-nationalists and language used by PM Boyko Borissov could spoil it all.