Edit“I Want My Money Back!” Bulgarian CEO channels Margaret Thatcher in open letter to San Marino
€15 million is serious money - but it’s pocket change compared to what San Marino risks in international arbitration, damaged investment ratings, or a prolonged image problem on its road to Brussels
European history sometimes repeats itself with a smile. In 1984, a famously determined British Prime Minister looked across a dinner table at François Mitterrand and declared: “I want my money back!”
Today, Assen Christov, CEO of Bulgaria’s Starcom Holding, has politely but unmistakably delivered a similar message to the Republic of San Marino.
In an open letter published this morning on insider.sm and addressed to Foreign Minister Luca Beccari (with the people of San Marino clearly in mind), Christov asks the question every investor eventually reaches when funds go missing: “Where exactly is our €15 million?”
The context will be familiar to readers of EUalive’s Tuesday story. Bulgaria quietly blocked San Marino’s EU Association Agreement discussions in Coreper after months of fruitless attempts to resolve the long-running dispute over the funds Starcom had deposited in Banca di San Marino as part of a major (and ultimately collapsed) banking acquisition. San Marino’s government responded, defending the judicial process and rejecting any “instrumentalisation.”
Christov’s letter keeps things remarkably civil – no grand conspiracy theories, just a very public, very Bulgarian version of Thatcher’s dinner-table insistence. He points out the practical oddities: the funds were seized in connection with a corruption probe that, according to him, never touched the people who actually signed the deal. He notes the lack of clear documentation on where the money was subsequently moved. And he gently reminds everyone that a month has passed since Starcom proposed an out-of-court meeting.
The tone is less “angry creditor” and more “slightly exasperated business partner who still wants to be friends.” After all, €15 million is serious money – but it’s pocket change compared to what San Marino risks in international arbitration, damaged investment ratings, or a prolonged image problem on its road to Brussels.
As Christov implicitly suggests (and as Thatcher would probably approve), even the thorniest disputes – from EU budget rows to actual wars in Ukraine or the Middle East – eventually find their way to a negotiating table. A disagreement over one bank transaction in a microstate the size of a handkerchief really shouldn’t be harder to solve.
The letter ends on a constructive note, expressing hope for dialogue and a swift, fair resolution. No ultimatums, just a clear and courteous: *We’d like our money back – and we’d prefer to do it without turning this into an international soap opera.
San Marino’s government now faces a choice: treat this as a purely domestic judicial matter that outsiders shouldn’t comment on, or seize the moment for some pragmatic, face-saving diplomacy. The people of San Marino, who have every interest in a smooth European future, will be watching with interest.
EUalive will keep following the story with the same light touch. Because sometimes the most effective diplomatic tool is still the simplest one: a polite but firm reminder that, in the end, accounts should add up.
Caption: “I want my money back” is the phrase that worked for Thatcher. It might just work for Christov too. From left to right, Léo Tindemans, Wilfried Martens, Margaret Thatcher and Geoffrey Howe. [Europe by Satellite]
Updated: May 14, 2026 - 15:43
