New disclosure in the "Bozhkov" case: OFAC names Borisov and Goranov specifically

In Bulgaria, the heaviest burdens are not the charges that reach the courtroom, but those that remain without a final answer from the institutions – a recorded phone conversation, chat correspondence, or international sanctions. Therefore, every new disclosure regarding the six-year-old plot between gambling tycoon Vasil Bozhkov and politician Boyko Borisov brings this topic back to the surface.

This time, the occasion is an official document from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, published by BIRD. It is not about new sanctions, but about OFAC's official response to the lawsuit filed by Vasil Bozhkov against the U.S. administration, requesting his removal from the "Magnitsky" sanctions list. It is in this document that the agency's position on the facts that led to his sanctioning in 2021 is set out.

Back when the sanctions were imposed in June 2021, OFAC announced that Bozhkov had bribed government officials and a "current political leader" without disclosing his name. In the court document dated July 31, 2026, the agency names Boyko Borisov specifically for the first time.

In 2023, Vladislav Goranov was also included in the "Magnitsky" sanctions list, as according to OFAC, he used his position "to facilitate the bribery of Bulgarian government officials and to deprive the Bulgarian state of tax revenue (from gambling, ed.) for the benefit of Bulgarian oligarchs."

A story without an ending

This is a story without a final outcome – the conflict between two former allies that has turned into one of the most significant political scandals. After leaving the country in 2020 to avoid arrest, Bozhkov published chats and SMS messages which he claimed were exchanged with Vladislav Goranov in his capacity as Minister of Finance in Borisov's third cabinet. The former gambling boss accused the then-prime minister of leading a scheme for political protection in exchange for millions of levs.

In his reports, the businessman claimed that between 2017 and 2019, he had handed over approximately 60 million levs (30.68 million euros) through Goranov. The Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office ruled on the case with a result that surprised no one. In 2023, the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office terminated the investigation against Borisov, Goranov, and Borisov's PR expert, Sevdelina Arnaudova, concluding that no evidence of a committed crime had been gathered.

The prosecution concluded that the investigation had not indisputably established that Borisov, Goranov, and Arnaudova had exercised coercion or extortion against the businessman. Three years later, the same allegations are once again coming to the forefront – but this time as part of OFAC's official defense before a federal court in the U.S.

What the new document contains

According to the text from OFAC: "OFAC found, and the plaintiff admitted, that he made payments to former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and former Minister of Finance Vladislav Goranov in exchange for them providing preferential treatment to his business interests. This indisputably conforms to the legal definition and commonly accepted understanding of bribery."

The new thing in this story is not that Bozhkov is claiming again that he gave money to Borisov and Goranov – he stated this publicly back in 2020. The new development is that the U.S. administration is now formulating these allegations as part of its own official legal defense, relying both on his admissions and on information gathered on the case.

The businessman's main position is that he did not participate voluntarily in a corruption scheme, but was forced to pay the then-ruling authorities under pressure and threats. In the legal dispute, OFAC is defending the grounds on which the sanctions were imposed, and it is precisely for this reason that it mentions by name the alleged recipients of the funds for the first time. It is this naming that makes the document news.

Reactions and consequences

The leader of GERB described the publication as an "absolute lie." "I have sworn on my grandchildren regarding everything I have said on this topic, and I have said it in all the places where it needs to be said," Borisov commented from Primorsko. Bozhkov himself has repeatedly claimed that he possesses documents to support his words, but only the SMS communication between him and Goranov remains publicly known.

Of all those involved in the story of the missing 560 million levs (286 million euros) in gambling tax revenue, the most seriously affected to date is Bozhkov himself. The so-called "Gambling Case" against the businessman started at the end of 2024, and the rhytons and other artifacts from his famous collection were seized and remain in state storage to this day.

The other figures are continuing their political careers. Borisov remains a party leader and MP, and Vladislav Goranov is also an MP and is gradually restoring his reputation.

Mariya Filipova, identified in the SMS correspondence as "the young lady" who received instructions to help Bozhkov, continued to hold leadership positions in the institutions. After the State Commission on Gambling (DCK), she became deputy chair of the Financial Supervision Commission – a successful career for a 33-year-old. Later, she headed the Commission for Consumer Protection, and now she is the Deputy Ombudsman. Her latest position places her among the potential candidates for caretaker prime minister.

Filipova is a key witness in one of the cases against Bozhkov. She claims that in 2019, he tried to rape her in his office after she refused a bribe of 10,000 levs per day. According to Bozhkov's claims, she herself requested this amount.

The OFAC document does not change the legal situation in Bulgaria, but it carries the potential to stir up the political environment, as the case can no longer be ignored. For Borisov, the problem is that the scandal refuses to remain part of the past. The topic is returning not because of new allegations by Bozhkov, but because the American administration has included them in its official defense before a federal court.

The Prosecutor's Office can close a case, but it cannot close a political scandal.