According to the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) press office, the MPs from GERB, Delyan Dobrev, and the chairman of the MRF's PG, Delyan Peevski, sent a signal to the prosecutor's office asking for an inspection of "Lukoil" Bulgaria because the refinery processed and sold fuels made from Russian oil abroad, including in EU countries.
The report was jointly investigated by the non-governmental organisation Global Witness, the Centre for the Study of Democracy in Bulgaria, and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, Finland (CREA). It was addressed to the prosecutor's office and the Bulgarian State Agency for National Security and was published by "Politico" on November 9, 2023.
Delyan Peevski highlights in the signal the significance of the topics brought up and revealed in media outlets for Bulgarian society. Peevski notes that if the cited sources permitted Russia to evade the EU's sanctions, which resulted in earnings for Russia of roughly 1 billion euros, which were used to fund the war in Ukraine, then there may be sufficient information to hold certain people criminally liable.
The research found that just in the period from March to July 2023 Lukoil refinery exported over 3 million barrels of fuel made from Russian oil in this manner.
In the signal, Peevski demands that a full, exhaustive, and comprehensive investigation be conducted. If specific individuals are discovered to have broken the law in a way that resulted in Russia evading EU sanctions and in the identification of a crime that has been committed, then appropriate measures should be taken to safeguard the public interest and hold those responsible accountable. /BGNES
