A Bulgarian court has acquitted the leader of a pro-Russian lobby group of charges of spying for Russia, in a ruling seen by AFP on Friday.
Nikolay Malinov, a former lawmaker sanctioned by the United States in 2023 over corruption, heads the International Russophile Movement, or Rusofili, the largest pro-Russia non-governmental organisation in Bulgaria.
He was accused of placing himself between 2013 and 2019 “at the service of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS) to serve as a spy by collecting information constituting a state secret with the intent to disclose it.”
He was also accused of disclosing in a 2019 meeting the identity of an individual helping state intelligence services, as well as data that could help identify undercover intelligence officers.
But a Sofia court on Thursday cleared him of all the charges.
Prosecutors did not immediately respond to AFP‘s query if they would appeal against the verdict.
In 2019, shortly after his arrest, Malinov was allowed by Bulgarian judge Andon Mitalov to travel to Russia, where he was personally decorated with an “order of friendship” by President Vladimir Putin.
The US State Department designated Mitalov for “involvement in significant corruption” in 2020.
In 2023, Malinov was sanctioned by the US, while the Council of the European Union sanctioned his movement in 2025, describing it as “responsible for amplifying destabilising narratives globally on behalf of the government of the Russian Federation.”
