Nikolay Naydenov spoke of "honor" and asked Borislav Sarafov to vacate the prosecutor's office

Minister of Justice Nikolay Naydenov launched a direct attack against former acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov from the rostrum of the National Assembly. He openly called on Sarafov to resign, warning that otherwise, he would continue his efforts for his dismissal through disciplinary proceedings.

Currently, the former head of the prosecutor's office leads the National Investigation Service, which makes him a deputy to the Prosecutor General. From Naydenov's words, it became clear that the ruling party intends to introduce legislative changes to terminate his status as deputy Prosecutor General.

"There are completely decent people working in the prosecutor's office, and they must be supported. I believe that people who have long performed these functions of the judicial nomenclature should not burden with their presence the magistrates who go to work every day and carry the weight of the prosecution as masters of the pre-trial proceedings. I would not call on Mr. Sarafov to leave the judicial system, but I would congratulate him if he did," stated Naydenov.

He added that, in his opinion, the fight against "behind-the-scenes and unregulated influences" must start precisely with this case. "I very much hope that he will show enough honor and make the decision to relieve the prosecutor's office and the people who stand behind him of his presence," the minister further said. Otherwise, he promised to continue the procedure for his disciplinary dismissal.

Naydenov announced that he had learned of the refusal by the Prosecutors' College of the Supreme Judicial Council to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Sarafov and had decided to challenge this decision before the Supreme Administrative Court. This will be done within the 14-day period provided for by law for appeals.

He announced that a proposal by the ruling party for amendments to the Judicial System Act would be submitted as early as today. According to him, the goal of these changes is to "limit the regrouping of Mr. Sarafov in the National Investigation Service." The minister recalled the legislative amendments adopted in 2025, which strengthened the independence of the service's director within the framework of the prosecutor's office.

Now, the proposed legislative changes provide that the director of the National Investigation Service cannot be a deputy to the Prosecutor General, and will also be stripped of some of their existing powers. The aim is to limit the influence of a single person who has concentrated a key position in the system.

The minister recalled that Borislav Sarafov has held leadership positions in the judicial system for 15 years. "15 years during which questions have accumulated; 15 years of judicial nomenclature, creating unregulated, in my opinion, influence, connections, dependencies. This must be brought to an end," Naydenov stated categorically.

He promised that the government would propose as many legislative changes as are necessary to resolve this case and restore trust in the institutions.

Regarding the case of Bulgarian European Prosecutor Teodora Georgieva, the minister announced that he would request a meeting with the head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, Laura Kövesi. During the conversation, he intends to request clarification of the parameters for the selection procedure for a European prosecutor, which is currently blocked due to appeals in the Supreme Administrative Court, as well as to what extent current practice is acceptable from the perspective of European legislation.

Naydenov also recalled the ruling in the case of former investigator Petyo Petrov – "Pepi Euro," expressing hope that the prosecutor's office would appeal the judicial act.

In response to journalists' questions regarding his connections with former Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov, Naydenov explained that as a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, he was directly subordinate to the collective body, which also includes the presidents of the supreme courts. Because of this, in his words, the claims of a special dependency or closeness to any of them are baseless.

He linked his professional rise in the judicial system to his participation in competitions in which he showed the best results. In this way, Naydenov emphasized, his career is the result of transparent procedures and achieved grades, and not of informal influences.