Despite an initial veto by the Bulgarian President, on January 19, 2018, the Anti-Corruption and Confiscation of Illegally AcquiredProperty Act (Act for Combating Corruption and for the Confiscation ofIllegally AcquiredProperty) entered into force.

The new Law replaced two previously effective legal acts: the Law on Prevention and Disclosure of Conflict of Interest (Law on Prevention and Disclosure of Conflict of Interest) and the Law on Conflict of Interest (Law on Prevention and Disclosure of Conflict of Interest).Law on the Prevention and Disclosure of Conflict of Interests) and the Law on Seizure of Illegally Acquired Property to the State (Law for the Recovery of Illegally Acquired Property from the StateIt is primarily aimed at combating corruption in the highest echelons of power.

For the purposes of the Law, corruption is defined as a situation in which a person holding a leading public position abuses power, violates or fails to fulfill his or her official duties in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, material or non-material benefit for himself or herself or for third parties. At the same time, the Law provides a closed list of persons classified as holding leading public positions, which covers most of the high-ranking officials of the country and includes: the President, Prime Minister, ministers, members of the Parliament

For persons holding senior public positions, the Law establishes the obligation of annual declaration of interests and property, as well as a number of anti-corruption restrictions and prohibitions, including:

• prohibition to perform state (municipal) functions;
• prohibition to vote in the presence of personal interest;
• prohibition to use one's official position to influence other bodies and third parties in order to promote one's personal interests;
• restriction on employment or conclusion of service contracts with commercial organizations, in respect of which such person exercised control functions, within one year after dismissal from public office, etc.

Persons holding senior public positions are also obliged to take measures to prevent conflicts of interest, whereby the Law defines a conflict of interest as a situation in which a person holding a senior public position has a personal interest that may affect the impartial and objective performance of his/her official duties. In the event of such an interest, the person must refuse to perform his/her official duties or to participate in discussions or voting.

However, a whistleblower cannot remain anonymous: in order to disclose information about a corruption case, the whistleblower must provide his or her name, national identification number and contact information.

In order to implement the main objectives of the Act, there is an independent standing Commissionfor Combating Corruption and Confiscation of Illegally AcquiredProperty (Komisyata za counteraktivnosti na korupciata i za otnemane na illegally acquired property), accountable to the Bulgarian National Assembly (the highest legislative body of the country). The Commission consists of five members (a chairperson, a deputy chairperson and three other members of the Commission) and is the successor to the Commission for Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Property(Komisyata z z ).

The Commission collects and verifies the accuracy of the annual declarations of interests and assets of persons holding senior public positions and their placement in the public registry. In addition, the Commission analyzes the compliance of the expenses of such persons with their income and, in case of a significant discrepancy (exceeding BGN 150,000 - approximately RUR 5.4 million), may initiate a lawsuit for confiscation of illegally acquired property. In the exercise of its powers, the Commission has the right to request assistance from the prosecuting authorities.

At the same time, the Commission is responsible for collecting and analyzing information on anti-corruption measures in force in the country, developing proposals for their improvement, as well as for conducting information and educational work in the field of preventing and combating corruption.