Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) member of parliament Delyan Peevski filed a lawsuit before a US court demanding the cancellation of the sanction imposed on him under the Global Magnitsky Act of 2016.
The lawsuit against the State Department, the US Treasury Department, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) asserts that there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by Peevski, and that the US administration has so far failed to provide such evidence to his lawyers, despite repeated requests to do so. The position of his legal representatives from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius is that this is a substantial violation, which makes the sanction unlawful and violates Peevski's right to a defence.
Immediately after the announcement of him being sanctioned by the US under the Magnitsky Act in June 2021, the MRF MP Delyan Peevski declared that the motives for these sanctions did not correspond to the facts and that he would take all necessary actions, including the hiring of American lawyers, to exonerate himself and clear his name.
In September of last year, it became clear that the appeal process had been set in motion, with one of Peevski's attorneys, Kenneth J. Nunnenkamp, specifying that proceedings were already pending before OFAC and the US State Department, and that if successful, it would result in lifting sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act.
A check by the reputable Bulgarian media Standard in the US court cases system confirmed that at the beginning of August 2022, the legal stage of the proceeding had been commenced, and a claim was filed in the District of Columbia District Court on behalf of Delyan Peevski and his six companies, which were also included in the sanctions’ list. The lawsuit was filed on August 6 and has not yet been scheduled as it is in the subpoena stage. The legal claim is against the State Department, the US Treasury Department and the OFAC.
The filing confirms Delyan Peevski's statement during the past one year that there is no evidence of any illegal action or involvement in corruption. It is clear that for the moment no proof for such action or involvement has been produced by the US administration and served to his lawyers of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. Therefore, Peevski’s demand is that the court orders the final cancellation of the sanctions against him and the companies in which he is involved. According to his US lawyers, the failure to provide evidence makes the sanctions illegal and violates Peevski's right to a defence.
