More than 73 online platforms have been identified as offering medicines illegally, including over 30 websites mainly selling peptides, Minister of Health Katya Ivkova told reporters on Friday.
Reports have also been sent to the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC), she said. Many people were using peptides obtained outside the authorized channels for buying medicines in Bulgaria. They sought quick results, particularly weight loss, without knowing what substances they were taking, Ivkova added.
Bulgarian Drug Agency Executive Director Bogdan Kirilov said the main enforcement obstacle was that, in 99% of cases, the domains were outside Bulgaria. This severely limited the Interior Ministry’s ability to block access to the websites. The agency makes test purchases jointly with the Interior Ministry and submits the accompanying documents to GDCOC to identify sellers, trace addresses and explore ways to block the relevant IP addresses, with the aim of imposing penalties, he added.
Three administrative proceedings were under way, Kirilov said. Administrative offence notices had been drawn up in two cases; in the third, the trader was to be summoned by Interior Ministry officials and issued with a notice. The statutory financial penalties were around EUR 38,000, he added. Changes to the names of many websites or their links to other sites posed another enforcement challenge. Domains outside Bulgaria remained the biggest obstacle, Kirilov said.
He warned that buyers of medicines from such websites had no guarantee of their quality or storage conditions. As part of any future legislative amendments, the agency would propose criminal liability for those selling peptides illegally, rather than administrative penalties alone, Kirilov added.
Ivkova said there were gaps in the Criminal Code and that, within a week, she would ask Kirilov to propose legislative changes to criminalize such trade. A list of websites offering medicines illegally would be published on the Bulgarian Drug Agency’s website, with weekly updates planned, she added. She urged the public to submit reports, assuring them that their anonymity would be guaranteed.
Peptides, like medicines, require specific transport and storage conditions, Health Without Risk campaign initiator Desislava Vlasakieva said. The national information campaign was created in response to the growing risks posed by misleading health information, unregulated medicinal products and products with unproven health claims, the agency’s website says.
Over 73 Online Platforms Offer Medicines Illegally, Health Minister Says 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-09 14:34:00
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