Are there concrete links that connect the energy boss Hristo Kovachki, who recently came under the blows of „Magnitski“ and the businessman Kiril Domuschiev? And what do they have in common? We will answer these questions in the third part dedicated to them. We recall that in the first we looked at how they built their empires, and in the second – what are the similarities between them.
There is definitely something in common between them – they share acquaintances with politicians with a dubious past and controversial image. One of them is Boyko Borisov. We remind you that the moment he sat down on the mayor’s chair in Sofia, Borisov boasted that he had already found a place to deposit the garbage – in Hristo Kovachki’s „Chukurovo“ mine. It is also a fact that when he was elected prime minister again, it did not bother the businessman despite reports of irregularities against him. At the same time, Kiril Domuschiev never hid his friendship with the former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The closeness of Kovachki and Domuschiev with Borisov was also confirmed in the past by Maya Manolova, who said that he allowed them “at the table and in the treasury”.
The two of them have another mutual acquaintance who recently got on the „Magnitsky“ list – Vladislav Goranov. It is known that he lives for free in his godfather’s apartment in the Este complex, which is managed by Este Properties, a subsidiary of Advance Properties, in which the brothers Kiril and Georgi Domuschievi are partners.
But how is the former finance minister related to the energy boss? In 2014, it was claimed that Goranov would become the executive director of Municipal Bank. At that time, the main shareholder was the Metropolitan Municipality, and the minority shareholders were companies connected to Hristo Kovachki, who in 2004 acquired a blocking quota in its management.
Domuschiev and Kovachki also share a common acquaintance with Ahmed Dogan. For example, Kovachki is said to have attended Dogan’s birthday as a VIP guest. In 2021, however, Domuschiev admitted that the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria is closest in ideas to DPS – the party of which Dogan is the honorary chairman.
It is also interesting their acquaintance with the chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev, who in 2020, in connection with the arrest of Vasil Bozhkov, admitted – “various businessmen and socially weak consultants such as Domuschiev and Kovachki and they provide intelligence”.
What the two have in common is not only the persons from the political elite, but also the political parties. As can be seen from what has been stated so far, both of them share relations with GERB and DPS.
The garbage fiasco – both Hristo Kovachki and Kiril Domuschiev had it. In 2019, the Haskovo ecoinspection found that at the „Maritsa 3“ thermal power plant in Dimitrovgrad, garbage was stored for burning in the power plants of the energy businessman. A year later, the district prosecutor’s office in Stara Zagora discovered mountains of garbage at the TPP from the oligarch’s circle – in Galabovo.
In 2020, it became clear that Domuschiev’s company will clean up garbage in Sofia until 2025. Meanwhile, last year, residents of the capital’s Mladost district complained that the ZMBG company, which serves the area and is connected to Domuschiev, did not collect the trash from the Easter clean-up in the area in time. And not only. The signals are multiple.
The cold reserve – the plants do not work, but they receive money to stand by and in case of need to be activated. The auctions for him in the past were mostly won by three – Kovachki, Domuschiev and Dogan.
Whistleblowers – Numerous whistleblowers have been issued against companies of both businessmen. The general thing is that even if there was an investigation, its results are missing. For example, in 2022, Vasil Bozhkov announced that Domuschiev’s name was also included in his report to the European Prosecutor’s Office, but no one was looking for it. A few days ago, the European Prosecutor’s Office came under the supervision of Kovachki.
Prohibited substances? In 2020, Vasil Bozhkov wrote on Facebook:
“The names of Delyan Peevski and Kiril Domuschiev have been associated with drug trafficking and smuggling for years. But while the mutts used to protect their business with clubs and chains — for today’s mutts, these „clubs“ are now the Prosecutor’s Office and state institutions. (…) Domuschiev and the developed channels of his pharmaceutical business are another piece of the puzzle.“
A Greenpeace report claims that Kovachki was close to mobster Sreten Josic, who is linked to arms and drug trafficking. To date, the authorities have not investigated either of the other businessmen for their claims and connections with such controversial individuals.
In 2019, Valentin Zlatev accused Kiril Domuschiev of a conflict of interest. The reason – changes in the Fuel Act. Then Zlatev said that The Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria wanted to drop important texts, without which smuggling would have been legalized. The boss of Lukoil believes that he is in a conflict of interest, since solid quantities of fuels passed through his port.
Greenpeace published a report entitled „The Eight Circles of the Kovachki Coal Empire“. In it, the organization describes the network of companies in the energy sector associated with Kovachki. The analysis „examines the roles of intermediaries draining the public company „Toplofikatsia Sofia“, a trader and verifier of greenhouse emissions, a retired fund for investments in heating systems, an insurance company – a „favorite of the state“ and last but not least – a lobby association for a „green future“ of the Brown Coal Empire”. According to the report, 17 companies from the companies that were investigated have a total of BGN 330 million in unpaid debts to the National Revenue Agency at the end of 2020. On the same date, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations of companies from this list, receivables were written off of the National Revenue Agency in the amount of BGN 10 million.
The two businessmen are also football fans… so much so that they support or even buy clubs. Domuschiev is known to be the owner of „Ludogorets“, and in 2008, Kovachki showed a desire to help the then stalled „Beroe“ team. In 2012, the energy boss returned a majority stake in FC Miner.
And so it turns out that the two have more in common than expected – political figures, parties, banks, whistleblowing, suspected corruption and even football clubs. We are yet to find out whether there will be a similar action in Kiril Domuschiev’s companies as that of the European Prosecutor’s Office in the cases of Hristo Kovachki, as well as whether the two will come under the blows of „Magnitski“.
To be continued!
