Russia’s state-owned Goszagransobstvennost organised a secret auction to sell a property in the most expensive area of the Bulgarian capital. The Russian state-owned firm Goszagransobstvennost has organised a secret auction for the sale of a property in one of the most expensive areas of Sofia, according to the Bulgarian investigative outlet Bird.bg, partner of EUalive. The sale reportedly breaches U.S. sanctions as well as two EU regulations, the website reports.
Prospective buyers are required to deposit €850,000 in roubles into an account held by a sanctioned Russian bank to participate in the auction, scheduled for the end of Octobe.
The transfer of ownership should not be authorised by Bulgarian institutions as it would violate EU and U.S. sanctions. However, both seller and buyer have allegedly devised a scheme to bypass these restrictions.
Documents for the secret auction, commissioned by the Russian state agency for managing overseas assets Goszagransobstvennost and organised by the Russian Auction House (RAD), were received via the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) secure whistleblowing platform.
The ICIJ, known for the investigations known as the “Panama Papers” and “Pandora Papers”, counts Bird.bg as its Bulgarian partner, which obtained access to the documentation. The information was later confirmed by a second independent source, Bird reported
The documentation details the procedure for bidders. By 6 p.m. Moscow time on 27 October, participants must submit a registration request including proof of a deposit of €850,000 — 10% of the property’s starting price of €8.5 million.
The deposit must be paid in roubles to an account at “PSB Bank” in Yaroslavl (formerly Promsvyazbank), which is under EU and US sanctions. This means that any potential bidders would already have breached or will breach sanctions by taking part.
Interestingly, the initial documentation listed another bank not under sanctions, but Goszagransobstvennost later changed the account details to the sanctioned bank.
The property for sale comprises a four-storey building with a total floor area of 554 square metres and a garage, located in the very heart of Sofia. The starting price is €8.5 million, with bid increments of €10,000.
Bidding is set to begin on 30 October at 6 p.m. and close at 11 a.m. on 31 October. The winner will have a few days to transfer the full amount and pay the platform’s commission, after which a preliminary sale agreement will be signed.
Bird.bg sent emailed questions to Goszagransobstvennost and the auction organiser Russian Auction House (RAD), but no response was received by the time of publication.
According to Bird.bg, three other high-value properties in prime Sofia locations are expected to be sold through similar secret auctions.
Intelligence services stay put
Bulgaria’s counterintelligence agency DANS and the Prosecutor’s Office have been repeatedly alerted to the security risks surrounding several large and highly problematic Russian-owned properties in the country, but no action has followed. The most prominent property is the vast Russian resort complex in the Black Sea area of Kamchia.
The Kamchia complex lies within a forest directly on the coast, around 20 kilometres from NATO’s Black Sea operational coordination centre in Varna.
The Kamchia Sanatorium and Wellness Complex is owned by the Moscow city government, which is under EU sanctions following the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Despite this, Bulgarian authorities have made no move to nationalise the property.
In March 2024, the Sofia Court of Appeal applied EU sanctions directly for the first time, blocking a transaction to transfer ownership of the House of Moscow in Sofia.
The Kremlin still controls extensive properties in Sofia and across Bulgaria that fall under EU sanctions. However, Bulgaria has refused to adopt long-delayed legislation that would enable their confiscation.
Among the most prominent assets is the Russian Cultural and Information Centre on Shipka Street in Sofia, which includes a hotel, a restaurant and a diplomatic section. The land beneath the building covers nearly five decares, while the building itself has a total built area of 12,500 square metres.
Another significant asset is the Kamchia complex on the Black Sea coast, formally owned by the Moscow city government. Situated near the Kamchia River, the base is widely seen as the last Russian enclave on Bulgaria’s coastline. Before the war in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had plans to transform Kamchia into a hub for spreading Russian “soft power” across Europe.