Delyan Peevski

Peevski was said to have the lowest attendance in the 44th National Assembly.

Yet he is among the most active PMs in the 49th National Assembly with regular attendance of the parliamentary sessions and 6 bills filed in the first 5 months.

The legislative efforts of the MP within the 49th National Assembly are focused mainly on the judicial reform, Bulgaria's support for Ukraine and enforcement of the EU sanctions against Russia.

Peevski graduated from 119 SOU in Sofia in 1998 and completed his legal studies at the South-West University in 2003.

His university diploma is a subject of a dispute for authenticity.

In 2001, Peevski joined the National Movement Simeon II (NMSII).

In 2007, he was fired as a deputy minister during the Socialist-led government in a corruption scandal.

He was investigated, but the investigation was dropped and he was given his job back.

Delyan Slavchev Peevski (Делян Славчев Пеевски ) is a Bulgarian politician, oligarch, entrepreneur and former media mogul who has served as a Member of the National Assembly of Bulgaria since 2009.

A member of the DPS party, he was elected for a short time in 2013 as the Director of the State Agency for National Security, which triggered long lasting national protests.

Peevski was also unanimously elected in 2024 as the co-leader of the DPS party alongside Dzhevdet Chakarov.

In June 2021 the United States Department of the Treasury designated Peevski, the public official Ilko Zhelyazkov and the Bulgarian oligarch Vasil Bozhkov, along with 64 entities owned and controlled by Bozhkov and Peevski, for their roles in public corruption, pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

Simultaneously, UK also sanctioned several high-profile Bulgarian figures, including Peevski, under the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations from 2021.

In June 2013, Peevski was elected President of the State Agency for National Security, with the votes of 116 MPs. Thousands of Bulgarians gathered in front of government headquarters in Sofia to protest against the oligarch's appointment, chanting "Mafia" and "resign."

Under the pressure of the protests against the Oresharski cabinet that followed, Parliament unanimously revised its decision later the same month.

After a couple of months of lack of clarity whether under these conditions Peevski was still considered an MP or not, eventually in December 2013 the Constitutional Court decided that he still was an MP.

In May 2014, Peevski was elected to the European Parliament on the MRF ticket, but immediately thereafter decided to give up his seat.

He explained that his motivation to participate in the European elections, while not taking his seat, had been to restore his reputation.

In mid June 2014, three people were arrested due to their involvement in an alleged murder plot against Peevski, but they were eventually released because of a lack of sufficient evidence.

According to an article, published in Der Spiegel "Peevski personifies the oligarchic system of clientelism like no other".

As a member of the Bulgarian National Assembly he moved together with another two MPs from the parliamentary group of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms - Yordan Tsonev and Hamid Hamid, amendments to the Bank Insolvency Act.

In 2016 the MP together with two more members of the same parliamentary group - Yordan Tzonev and the former minister of finances Peter Chobanov, moved urgent amendment to the Bank Insolvency Act in order to allow the publicizing of the report of AlixPartners Services UK LLP, which was contracted to trace and take action for the preservation and recovery of the assets of the failed Corporate Commercial Bank (KTB), Bulgarian News Agency reported.

After the amendments were adopted, the report was translated in Bulgarian and published in May 2016.

According to the document, the audit confirmed that the bank functioned as a financial pyramid and was siphoned off through large loans to companies related to the majority shareholder Tzvetan Vassilev.

More than half of the loans at the value of 2,5 billion BGN were given to companies related to Vassilev.

The report also shows that the majority shareholder also used the bank for "personal transactions".

He has appeared in only one plenary session, according to data from December 2017.

The amendments, which are related to Corpbank (KTB), were conclusively adopted in February 2018, Bulgarian News Agency reported.

According to the movers' reasons, the idea of the amendments is to establish an effective mechanism for replenishing a bankrupt bank's bankruptcy estate and to suppress schemes for plundering assets purchased directly or indirectly on money originating from such a bank.

The president of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev has put a veto on the amendments.

His veto was later overturned by the MPs and the amendments were conclusively adopted by the Parliament on 7 March 2018.

Those were second amendments, filed by Peevski and his colleagues from the Parliamentary group of MRF, with reference to the so-called "KTB case" and unveiling the truth about the embezzlement of the bank by its majority shareholder Tzvetan Vassilev.

On 4 July 2018 the National Assembly approved in principle other amendments, moved by Peevski and his colleagues Yordan Tzonev, Hamid Hamid and Velislava Krusteva, Bulgarian News Agency reported.

The new bill is on the disclosure of real owners and financing of media organizations.

Authors stated that the amendments aim to bring full transparency on the media sector now having problems with online media outlets, whose owners and financing are unknown.

And to show whether or not this is a monopolist market.

Yet, the opponents of the amendments stated that the bill attacks Delyan Peevski's rivals because it requires disclosure of all sources of financing of media organizations other than the proceeds from advertising and bank loans.

The opponents of the bill state that "it is aimed against the opposition-minded news media, which use financing from non-government organizations and foreign grants".

The day after bill's approval, Peevski, Hamid, Tzonev and Krusteva moved additional amendments requiring disclosure of bank loans and advertising incomes as well in order to meet the expectations of society.

Yet the bill is still under attacks by its opponents.