Former Minister of Energy Rumen Ovcharov, who is now part of the leadership of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, called his inclusion in the Magnitsky list “a battle aimed at ousting Russian energy supplies from Europe”. "The battle against me is not a battle for the past, but for the future of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian energy sector," Rumen Ovcharov told the delegates of the 50th Congress of the Bulgarian Socialist Party.  In his words, “none of the persons added to the Magnitsky list defended Russian interests". "We have defended Bulgarian interests, because Bulgaria is interested in receiving cheap and safe nuclear fuel," Rumen Ovcharov said and added that “the American nuclear fuel is the old Russian nuclear fuel”.

Yesterday, the United States added five more Bulgarians (Vladislav Goranov, Rumen Ovcharov, Alexander Hristov Nikolov, Ivan Genov and Nikolay Malinov) to the Magnitsky list “for their extensive involvement in corrupt activities in Bulgaria”. At the Congress of the Bulgarian Socialist Party Rumen Ovcharov said that he neither possessed offshore accounts, nor owned EUR 5 million.

• Washington  sanctions Bulgarian officials, firms for corruption, adding them to Magnitsky list