Bulgaria’s National Assembly on Wednesday set up a commission of inquiry into the activities of US billionaire and philanthropist George Soros, his son, and their foundations in the country.
The creation of the commission — “to collect and analyse documents, question Bulgarian services and institutions as well as individuals” — sparked criticism from justice and rights groups.
The investigation came after a suggestion from the party of Delyan Peevski, a former media tycoon targeted by US and British sanctions for corruption.
Lawmakers passed a vote with the help of two ruling coalition parties as well as all pro-Russian or far-right parliamentary groups.
The main party in power, GERB, and the pro-European CC/BD alliance did not support the motion.
The commission is to establish “the flow of financing and to identify any links with political parties, judges, schools, media, economic circles and public institutions”.
“The Bulgarian parliament is trying to keep up its restrictions on the activities of critical civic organisations, a well-known scenario which follows the Kremlin playbook and is equally applied in Hungary,” said Teodor Slavev, director of the Bulgarian Institute for Legal Initiatives, which promotes the rule of law.
Soros’s Open Society foundation was established in Sofia in 1990, just after the fall of the communist regime in Bulgaria.
It funds education, judicial reform and anti-discrimination projects.
Soros, 95, has become the target of ultra-conservatives and conspiracy theorists. In August, US President Donald Trump called for legal action against Soros, accusing him of having backed violent protests.
For a number of years, Soros has also been seen as the nemesis of the government in his native Hungary.
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