ACF Announces Winners of 2025 Red Line Journalism Against Corruption Awards

The Anti-Corruption Fund Foundation (ACF) has announced the winners of its 2025 Red Line Journalism Against Corruption Award. The awards ceremony was held on 9 December, International Anti-Corruption Day.

Six journalists and two investigative organisations were presented with awards. The winners were selected among 129 nominations in four categories: Investigative Journalism, Rule of Law, Regional Journalism, and Young Journalist.

The grand award for Investigative Journalism was given to the teams of BIRD (Investigations and Data Journalism Project) and the civil movement BOEC for their work exposing dependencies in the justice system, including reports on the assets of family members of the acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov. They were awarded also for analysing the secret archive of Petyo Petrov “The Euro” which suggests links between him and politicians as well as underground figures.

Vidka Atanasova from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty received the special award for Investigative Journalism for a series of reports on the Bulgarian Union of Teachers and the what appears to be lifetime tenure of its chairperson Yanka Takeva. The reports show that the union’s main activity is real estate dealings. The union purchased real estate properties from individuals with criminal records or acquired properties belonging to the former socialist teachers’ union. Atanasova also exposed numerous violations within the union: collection of membership fees without receipts, lack of transparency in how annual membership fees, amounting to some BGN 20 mln., are being spent, and links between Takeva and organisations sanctioned under the Global Magnitski Act.

The jury awarded a certificate for journalistic investigation exposing corruption or conflict of interests to Desislava Nikolova from the weekly Capital. Nikolova was awarded for several reports exposing violations in the healthcare sector: fraudulent claims to the National Health Insurance Fund and contracts, for the use of specialised life-saving equipment, that harm the budget of public hospitals.

For a second year in a row, the award for Regional Journalism was presented to Venelina Popova from the network for regional journalism Za Istinata. Popova is celebrated for her bravery and perseverance in covering topics of high public interest, such as attempts to manipulate the electoral process in small communities and the significant air pollution in Galabovo Municipality.

“For years, because of her work, Venelina Popova is being pressured by institutions and high-ranking officials. This year she became the target of a defacto SLAPP lawsuit after the mayor of Galabovo Municipality lied in court,” said Boyko Stankushev, director of ACF. “Our team expresses full solidarity with Venelina and calls on all representatives of local institutions and the judiciary to respect the work of journalists and the right of citizens to be informed.”

This year, the Regional Journalism category is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Bulgaria.

“Regional journalism is where media truly meets the realities that shape everyday life. Regional journalists are the eyes and ears close to the citizen,” said Sara Gry Andersen, Deputy Head of Mission and First Secretary at the embassy. “When local media is strong and independent, communities and the citizens have the best chance to be informed.”

The award in the Rule of Law category was presented to Maya Dimitrova from the Bulgarian National Television for her documentary Architects of Chaos. The film exposes a well-oiled desinformation machine targetting thousands of people. The jury also acknowledged Dimitrova’s work on a series of reports showing systemic Russian propaganda in Bulgarian educational institutions. The initiatives — which include dressing children in Russian military uniforms — are being funded by the Russian state and church and are part of the official calendar of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, undermining the right to quality education.

Tatyana Yordanova from Nova TV received the award in the category Young Journalist for her work exposing property and financial fraud targeting foreign nationals and other fraudulent schemes for which institutional reactions have been either delayed or lacking.

A special certificate in the category Young Journalist was presented to Katerina Vasileva from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Vasileva was celebrated for investigative pieces showing electoral violations serving corporate and political interests.

Tatyana Yordanova received an additional award by Nathaniel Copsey, British Ambassador to Bulgaria. Ambassador Copsey described the Red Line Awards as a clear example of the crucial role of journalism in the efforts to defend democracy in Bulgaria.

“Recent weeks have shown the strength of public feeling. People are calling for integrity, transparency, and accountability—principles that are not optional, but essential. Corruption must not be tolerated. Change will not come overnight, but together we can make progress,” said Ambassador Copsey.

The winners were selected by a jury which included: Zlatka Stefanova, attorney; Konstantin Karadjov, journalist; Krasen Nikolov, journalist at Mediapool; Lubomir Alamanov, PR expert; Lora Georgieva, legal expert at ACF.

The Red Line Journalism Against Corruption Awards are organized with the support of the America for Bulgarian Foundation, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Bulgaria, and the British Embassy Sofia.