The National Assembly voted on significant amendments to the Criminal Code, which create a new mechanism for confiscation of property acquired through criminal activity. The legislative novelties were submitted by the Council of Ministers and adopted after prolonged debates.
The key change relates to the state's ability to seize property from third parties who have acquired property or funds in a dishonest manner. The texts provide for property seizure when the act does not constitute a direct crime, but there are suspicions of criminal origin.
According to the adopted provisions, property can be confiscated under the following hypotheses:
- Gratuitous acquisition by a third party who knows of its criminal nature
- Compensated acquisition with a significant deviation from market value
- In legal succession of legal entities
During parliamentary discussions, deputies from the opposition formations "Vazrazhdane", "Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" and "Magnitude" sharply criticized the proposed changes, especially regarding the extension of pre-trial investigation periods.
Petar Petrov from "Vazrazhdane" described the changes as an attempt to delay investigations, as the current two-month terms are increased to three months, and four-month terms to six months. In his opinion, there is no convincing argument for such an extension.
Nadezhda Yordanova from PP-DB emphasized that the proposed texts practically untie the hands of the prosecution without necessary control. She cited a Council of Europe report, according to which the budget and number of prosecutors are increasing, while investigated cases are decreasing.
An alternative proposal from the "Magnitude" party was the introduction of a two-year maximum investigation period, which was rejected with 104 votes "against" versus 51 "for".
The final vote passed with the following results: 116 deputies supported the changes, 71 were "against", and 16 abstained. The new texts significantly expand the possibilities for property seizures and extend the procedures for pre-trial investigations.
Experts expect future legal discussions regarding the constitutionality and practical application of the adopted legislative amendments, which raise serious questions about legal certainty and property protection.