Balgarianovinite.com The number of reports of conflicts of interest filed in the first quarter of 2026 increased nearly 2.5 times compared with the same period last year, the National Audit Office said on Saturday. The largest number of reports concern municipal councillors, mayors and school headteachers.
For the period January 1 – March 31, 2026, a total of 246 reports were received and processed by the Conflict of Interest Directorate, 137 of which were submitted between February 16 and the end of March. In the first quarter of 2025, the number of reports filed was 100, while for the entire first half of that year a total of 182 reports were received and processed under the Anti-Corruption Act.
Since February 2026, following amendments to the National Audit Office Act, the audit institution has also been performing part of the functions of the now-closed Anti-Corruption Commission. Among its new responsibilities are implementing state policy on corruption prevention, receiving and verifying asset and interest declarations of persons holding public office, as well as receiving and processing reports from citizens who have information on conflicts of interest involving public officials.
The Conflict of Interest Directorate conducts checks to establish whether or not a conflict of interest exists by collecting, processing and analysing documents and evidence. It drafts decisions in this regard, provides legal representation in cases concerning conflicts of interest, as well as decisions on establishing or not establishing incompatibility, among others.
In the first quarter of 2026, a total of 123 decisions on the admissibility of submitted reports were adopted. In 26 cases, proceedings were initiated, while in four cases the proceedings concluded with established conflicts of interest.
In the period February 16 – March 31, 2026 alone, the National Audit Office adopted 69 decisions related to reports of conflicts of interest, with proceedings and incompatibility checks initiated in 14 cases. In three cases, conflicts of interest have already been established – involving two municipal mayors and one municipal councillor.
The trend of a higher number of reports concerning municipal councillors and mayors continues, but there is also an increase in reports concerning school heads, as well as representatives of the executive and legislative branches.
Based on reports by the Conflict of Interest Directorate, the National Audit Office has also adopted four decisions to refer cases to the Commission for the Forfeiture of Illegally Acquired Assets for verification on the basis of final rulings establishing a conflict of interest.
Reports submitted to the National Audit Office that contain information about other violations are forwarded to the relevant competent institutions. Information from reports concerning the improper spending of budget funds is entered into a special register, and the data from it serve as a basis for drafting the National Audit Office’s Programme for Audit Activities for the following year. Number of Filed Conflict of Interest Reports Grows Nearly 2.5 Times in Q1 of 2026, Y/Y 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-04-11 07:45:29 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law