A Russian businessman, the head of the board of directors of the Tsargrad group of companies, has been banned from entering Bulgaria for 10 years. This was reported by the Bulgarian National Radio, citing the country's Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov.

The entry ban for Malofeev is related to the espionage case against the leader of the Bulgarian movement "Russophiles" Nikolay Malinov. Investigators believe that he received money from two Russian organizations - the "Double-Headed Eagle" society and the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies - to pay for events to reorient Bulgaria's foreign and domestic policies.

On the website of the Double-Headed Eagle society, Malofeev is listed as its chairman. His deputy is Leonid Reshetnikov, a former employee of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service and former director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies. Reshetnikov was also banned from entering Bulgaria for 10 years.

The head of the Russophiles movement, Nikolai Malinov, was detained on September 9. He was charged with espionage. Malinov was later released on bail.
Other leaders of the Russophile movement were searched. Seven people were detained. They were released without charges.

Tsargrad founder Konstantin Malofeev banned from entering Bulgaria for 10 years over espionage case