Are Bulgarian government, ministries, and parliament are business entities registered in the US? No, this is not true: The Bulgarian government and parliament aren't business corporations, but rather, they are sovereign bodies governed by various international laws and treaties. Their status prevents them from being listed as commercial entities in the United States or elsewhere. Their relations with foreign nations are managed via diplomatic routes and global accords, not through business registries.
The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published on November 28, 2023, under the title "Bulgaria does not have a parliament, but a commercial company registered in the USA," as translated from Bulgarian to English by Lead Stories staff. At the 3:36 mark of the video, Metodi Bachvarov (archived link), Deputy Chairman of the National Movement "Khan Krum's Laws" made the following statement, as translated:
Bulgaria does not have a parliament but a commercial company registered in the US Commercial Register of America, in Dun & Bradstreet - the commercial register of the US, which belongs to the Federal Reserve. When our parliament receives grants, which is the new name for corruption, from a foreign government and a foreign country, from foreign citizens' budget, it also receives money from the country in which it presents itself as a national assembly and parliament; and this is fraud.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Dec 28 09:11:43 2023 UTC)
False claims (archived here and here) have been circulating on social media platforms suggesting that Bulgarian institutions, including the parliament, ministries, and political parties, are all business organizations listed in the U.S. Commercial Register. These misleading posts also claim that these institutions receive financial support from America, implying that they cater to the interests of the United States, including this example from a TikTok post (archived here) on December 25, 2023. Here the narrator states (as translated):
The Ministry of Economy is registered in the US Commercial Register. That is, it is not the Ministry of the Economy of Bulgaria, but the Ministry of the Economy of America.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Dec 28 09:11:22:55 2023 UTC)
The United States does not have a commercial register of companies at the national level. Instead, companies are registered in individual states. Each state's database is overseen by the office of the local Secretary of State (archived link) or an equivalent authority. Resources like the National Corporation Directory (archived link) and OpenCorporates (archived link) provide information about registered companies across various states.
Dun & Bradstreet (archived link) is not a 'US Commercial Register' which belongs to the Federal Reserve, but rather one of the three major business credit bureaus (archived link), specializing in providing business credit scores and ratings, which are used by potential lenders and creditors to assess a company's financial standing. The Federal Reserve System (archived link) is the central bank of the United States, responsible for formulating and administering the nation's credit and monetary policy, overseeing banks, and ensuring the stability of the economy.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Industry (archived link) is an integral part of its government. Like all other government bodies, the ministry operates under the laws of its home country. Bulgaria is home to the National Assembly, serving as the legislative authority of the Republic. Operating as a unicameral parliament, it upholds the principles of a parliamentary democracy. Bulgaria has been a member of the European Union since 2007 (archived link). Neither the Parliament nor any of the Bulgarian Ministries are registered as business entities in the USA.
Lead Stories has previously debunked claims that Hungary and the Czech Republic are not legitimate states but rather abolished companies.
