Zaritsa Georgieva Dinkova

Public record

Compiled from publications and official records as of 23.10.2026. Every statement links to its source; claims made by others are marked as such, with who makes them. Quotations in English are our translation.

Corruption and scandals

• Tortoise at Tsarevo: complaint to the prosecutor's office. On 6 September the minister visited flood-hit Nestinarka beach; photos show her picking up a tortoise, and leaked claims said she threw two tortoises into the sea. She denied it on Facebook. VMRO co-chair Aleksandar Sidi, a political rival, filed a complaint with the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office. No decision on the complaint has been found. — News.bg, 7 Sep 2023
• About 7.7 m leva on advertising without a tender. According to a freedom-of-information reply obtained by TravelNews, the minister spent over 7.7 m leva excluding VAT (9.2 m with VAT) over the last 9 months on advertising in Bulgarian and foreign electronic media, under directly negotiated contracts. GERB-SDS MP Krasen Kralev, a political opponent, wrote on Facebook that she had spent millions "without any effect" (our translation). No violation, charge or audit finding has been found. — Financial Tribune, 25 Mar 2024
• Seven tourism organisations demand her resignation. Seven sector organisations, among them the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association, the National Tourism Board and the Bulgarian Tourist Chamber, signed an open letter calling on her to step down at the rotation, citing incompetence, absence from the debate on the 2024 budget and tax laws, and the exclusion of Velingrad from the strategy. — Bulgarian Association for Tourism, 9 Mar 2024
• Still listed as an MEP's assistant. Tribune.bg reported that while she was minister, the European Parliament website still listed her as an assistant to MEP Radan Kanev. — Tribune.bg, 20 Jun 2023