The Bulgarian mafia ( bg, мафия) is a series of
organized crime
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
elements originating from
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
.
Organized crime groups and activities
Modern organized crime is associated with the early 1990s, when weak power and continuous change of governments during Bulgaria's transition to democracy created conditions for economic and power groups to flourish. Bulgarian
organized crime
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
groups are involved in a wide range of activities, including
drug trafficking
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
,
cigarette smuggling
The illicit cigarette trade is defined as “the production, import, export, purchase, sale, or possession of tobacco goods which fail to comply with legislation” (FATF 2012). Illicit cigarette trade activities fall under 3 categories:
# Cont ...
,
human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
,
prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
,
illicit antiquities
The antiquities trade is the exchange of antiquities and archaeological artifacts from around the world. This trade may be illicit or completely legal. The legal antiquities trade abides by national regulations, allowing for extraction of artifact ...
trafficking,
extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
(often under the cover of ostensible
security
Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...
and
insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
companies), racketeering, various financial crimes, car theft and the arms trade. Bulgarian
organized crime
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
groups mainly use security and insurance companies such as
SIC
The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...
and
VIS as fronts for criminal activities.
In 2020, the Italian police, together with the Bulgarian police, dismantled a Bulgarian gang that operated mainly in the Italian region of
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
, but also in Bulgaria. The gang was specialized in theft, and was found responsible for more than 40 thefts in the time period between September 2018 and April 2020. According to the investigations the gang was a well-structured and organized criminal group. Still, according to the Italian police, the Bulgarian mafia is among the most dangerous foreign criminal groups operating in Italy, and it was reported that they would be cooperating with the
'Ndrangheta
The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate and secret society, criminal society based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of ...
.
Drug trafficking organizations run by Bulgarian nationals have been investigated in across US, especially in Los Angeles and Tampa. These groups deal with the import of cocaine and multi-thousand doses of ecstasy into the United States. Most members of these were imprisoned in the U.S. There, Bulgarian nationals are identified for falsification of IDs, organized bank fraud, drug trafficking, mortgage fraud, pimping, money laundering, extortion, arms dealing, loan sharking, pornography
credit card fraud
Credit card fraud is an inclusive term for fraud committed using a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card. The purpose may be to obtain goods or services or to make payment to another account, which is controlled by a criminal. The P ...
and alien smuggling.
Contract killings
Since the fall of communism in 1989, there have been more than 150 high rank heads mafia-style
contract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...
s in Bulgaria, frequently perpetrated in the centre of the capital,
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
, in broad daylight. There has been at most 1 conviction
in these cases to date, though sources differ. This is frequently blamed on the alleged widespread corruption at all levels of the Bulgarian judicial system including the Prosecutor's Office.
The cost of contract killings carried out by highly professional snipers has been estimated at £5,000-£50,000 The more important the more expensive one worth.
Some of the most prominent assassination targets of recent years (in chronological order):
*
Vasil Iliev
Vasil Iliev ( bg, Васил Илиев; January 22, 1965 – April 25, 1995) was a Bulgarian mobster, businessman and wrestler.
Background
Vasil Iliev was born in 1965 in Kyustendil, Bulgaria. He was a very successful wrestler, becoming a nation ...
- Founder of
VIS1
VIS1 (viral integration site 1), also known as HIS-1, is a long non-coding RNA. It was originally identified in mice in a screen for genes involved in the development of myeloid leukemia. In murine myeloid leukemias, this gene is a common site of ...
and
VIS2
Vis, ViS, VIS, and other capitalizations may refer to:
Places
* Vis (island), a Croatian island in the Adriatic sea
** Vis (town), on the island of Vis
* Vis (river), in south-central France
* Vis, Bulgaria, a village in Haskovo Province
* Vis ...
. Ambushed by an unknown killer on his way to Club "Mirage" on 25 April 1995.
*
Andrey Lukanov
Andrey Karlov Lukanov ( ) (26 September 1938 – 2 October 1996) was a Bulgarian politician. Between February and November 1990, was the final Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bulgaria.
Biography Early life
Lukanov was born in Moscow, ...
- former Bulgarian prime minister (1990). Killed on 2 October 1996.
*
Ivo Karamanski
Ivo Karamanski ( bg, Иво Карамански) (November 29, 1959 in Sofia, Bulgaria – December 20, 1998) was a reputed Bulgarian mobster. His life was difficult from the very beginning with his mother dying when he was only four years old. In ...
, a.k.a. "The Godfather" - Shot by a drunk acquaintance at a birthday party in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
on 20 December 1998.
*
Pantyu Pantev, a.k.a. "Polly" -
Drug smuggler
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
, initially affiliated with
VIS, later with
SIC
The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...
. He was rumoured to have stolen half a ton of cocaine from the
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
or
Colombian mafia. Several assassination attempts, including one with a
missile
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
,
all attempts for different reasons from different rivals. He was shot dead on the Caribbean island of
Aruba
Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...
on 9 March 2001.
*
Iliya Pavlov
Iliya Pavlov Naydenov ( bg, Илия Павлов Найденов; August 6, 1960 – March 7, 2003) was a Bulgarian businessman. A banker, financier, philanthropist and reputed Bulgarian mafia boss, he was the leader and founder of the Multi ...
- Founder of
Multigroup
Multigroup was a Conglomerate (company), business conglomerate in Bulgaria. Its founder is the Bulgarian businessman Iliya Pavlov, who was its leader until his assassination on March 7, 2003. In 1995, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republ ...
and the wealthiest individual in Bulgaria. There is no official evidence for criminal activities but he was widely considered to be one of the bosses of the mafia. Former employees claim that he was involved in a
prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
ring. He was shot dead in front of his office in Sofia on 3 July 2003 (a failed assassination attempt had been made in 1997).
*
Konstantin "Samokovetsa" Dimitrov -
Drug smuggler
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
and billionaire, connected with
VIS. Shot dead in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
on 7 December 2003.
*
Dimitar Hristov, a.k.a. Mitko the Little One - Shot dead on 4 June 2004 in a cafe together with his bodyguards Kaloyan Savov and Zhivko Mitev by two hitmen disguised as
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
priests.
*
Milcho Bonev, a.k.a. "Baj Mile" - One of the founders of
SIC
The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...
. He was believed to be an important link in the drug trafficking and distribution network in the Balkans, and was investigated by Bulgarian and Serbian special services. He had survived an earlier assassination attempt in September 2001. Bonev was shot dead in broad daylight in a garden-restaurant in Sofia on 20 July 2004 together with five of his bodyguards.
*
Georgi Iliev - Brother of
Vasil Iliev
Vasil Iliev ( bg, Васил Илиев; January 22, 1965 – April 25, 1995) was a Bulgarian mobster, businessman and wrestler.
Background
Vasil Iliev was born in 1965 in Kyustendil, Bulgaria. He was a very successful wrestler, becoming a nation ...
and head of
VIS2
Vis, ViS, VIS, and other capitalizations may refer to:
Places
* Vis (island), a Croatian island in the Adriatic sea
** Vis (town), on the island of Vis
* Vis (river), in south-central France
* Vis, Bulgaria, a village in Haskovo Province
* Vis ...
. Shot dead in front of his club at
Sunny Beach
Slanchev Bryag ( bg, Слънчев бряг , en, Sunny Beach) is a seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, north of Burgas.
Created in 1958 as a weekend getaway for Bulgarian families, Sunny Beach has become the largest tourist an ...
, Bulgaria on 25 August 2005.
*
Emil Kyulev
Emil Aleksandrov Kyulev ( bg, Емил Александров Кюлев) (June 5, 1957 – October 26, 2005) was a Bulgarian banker, owner of DZI bank.
Kyulev was born on June 5, 1957, in Sofia, Bulgaria. He was an elite swimmer and also a membe ...
- Former elite swimmer and
banker
A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
, connected with
SIC
The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...
. Shot dead while driving down
Boulevard Bulgaria in Sofia on 26 October 2005.
*
Anton Miltenov, a.k.a. "The Beak" -
Drug smuggler
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
, right-hand man of
Konstantin "Samokovetsa" Dimitrov. Shot dead in a popular cafe in the centre of Sofia on 30 October 2005 (together with his co-workers Ivan "The Ghost" Todorov and Nikolay "The Eyeglasses" Dobrev). An earlier attempt on his life had been made on 28 June 2002.
* Ivan Todorov, a.k.a. "The Doctor" -
Drug smuggler
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
. Shot dead on 22 February 2006. He had survived a previous assassination attempt on 18 April 2003 in which his
Mercedes
Mercedes may refer to:
People
* Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name
Automobile-related
* Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...
was blown up while driving down a main boulevard in Sofia.
*
Georgi Stoev
Georgi Stoev ( bg, Георги Стоев; September 26, 1973 – April 7, 2008, Sofia) was a Bulgarian writer and former Bulgarian mafia mobster.
Biography
As a teenager he trained to be a wrestler and attended "Olympic Hopes" school in Sof ...
- Former wrestler, connected with VIS and SIC. Had written nine books about Bulgaria's mafia bosses, many of whom he claimed to know personally. Shot dead in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
on 7 April 2008.
*
Zlatko Baretata (The Berret) - Notorious Bulgarian mobster. He suffered an assassination attempt on the stairs of the
Sofia Court House
The Sofia Court House ( bg, Съдебна палата, ''Sadebna palata,'' literally Palace of Justice) is a building in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, accommodating several courts in the city. Stylistically a simplistic yet monumental struct ...
in Downtown Sofia on 29-January 2013. Despite being shot multiple times, he survived the attack.
Other mafia-related assassinations
*
Georgi Kalapatirov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team
Lokomotiv Plovdiv
PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv ( bg, ПФК Локомотив Пловдив), commonly known as Loko Plovdiv, is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv. Lokomotiv's home ground is the Lokomotiv Stadium which is situated in Lauta Park ...
, shot dead in 1995.
*
Georgi Prodanov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 1995.
*
Petar Petrov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 1998.
* Nikolai Popov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 2005.
*
Alexander Tasev - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in May 2007.
*
Yanko Yankov Yanko may refer to:
*Yanko (name)
*Yanko Shire, a defunct local government area in New South Wales, Australia
*Parish of Yanko in New South Wales, Australia
{{disambiguation, geo ...
- Mayor of
Elin Pelin
Elin Pelin ( bg, Елин Пелин ) (8 July 1877 – 3 December 1949), born Dimitar Ivanov Stoyanov ( bg, Димитър Иванов Стоянов) is considered Bulgaria’s best narrator of the Bulgarian (Balkan) countryside and village.
...
, shot dead in January 2007.
*
Dimitar Yankov - Chairman of the Municipality Council of the seaside town of
Nesebar
Nesebar (often transcribed as Nessebar and sometimes as Nesebur, bg, Несебър, pronounced ) is an ancient city and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centr ...
, shot dead in May 2007.
*
Manol Velev - Bulgarian notorious businessman-mobster with close links with the BSP. Murder attempt on 6 November2007.
* Borislav Georgiev - Director of AtomEnergoRemont, one of the major Bulgarian energy companies. Shot dead in April 2008.
*
Petar Lupov - Prominent lawyer, involved in the defense team for a group of shareholders of the former Trakya Bank against DZI Bank. Shot dead on 25 March 2009 in
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
.
*
Bobi Tsankov - Controversial investigative journalist, criminal writer, radio and TV host. Shot dead in downtown
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
, January 2010.
Australia
*
Nik Radev
Nikolai Radev ( bg, Николай "Ник" Радев; 29 January 1959 – 15 April 2003), nicknamed The Russian, was a Bulgarian career criminal and mobster who was involved in crime in Melbourne, Australia.
Biography
During his life he was ...
-
Russian mafia
Russian organized crime or Russian mafia (, ), otherwise known as Bratva (), is a collective of various organized crime elements originating in the former Soviet Union. The initialism OPG is Organized Criminal (''prestupnaya'' in Russian) Gr ...
enforcer
Judicial prosecution and fight against criminal networks
In 2006, the EU dispatched the head of Germany's criminal investigation office Klaus Jansen to assess Bulgaria's progress in fighting organized crime. He concluded that Bulgaria had failed to implement modern principles and methods in the fight against crime, criticising among other things the low commitment of the country's police force to combat organized crime. The report further observed that "indictments, prosecutions, trials, convictions and deterrent sentences remain rare in the fight against high-level corruption" and described efforts to fight crime as "a total mess". Jensen also suggested that
European police information passed to Sofia could end up with criminals. In a reaction to the report, Interior Minister
Rumen Petkov
Rumen Petkov ( bg, Румен Петков; 26 January 1948 – 10 June 2018) was a Bulgarian animator, painter and comic creator. He is best remembered for his animated series ''Choko the Stork and Boko the Frog'', which he also adapted into a c ...
described the findings as exaggerated and protested against Jansen's way of presenting the situation in Bulgaria which, in his words, demonstrated his incompetence.
In the Bulgarian judicial system, the
Prosecutor General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
is elected by a qualified majority of two-thirds from all the members of the Supreme Judicial Council and is appointed by the President of the Republic. The Supreme Judicial Council is in charge of the self-administration and organisation of the Judiciary.
List of Prosecutor Generals in Bulgaria post-1989:
*
Ivan Geshev
Ivan Stoimenov Geshev ( bg, Иван Стоименов Гешев) is a Bulgarian jurist serving as Bulgaria's Chief Public Prosecutor since 26 November 2019. Geshev previously served as Head of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office (July 2016-Jul ...
- in office since 18 December 2019
*
Sotir Tsatsarov
Sotir Stefanov Tsatsarov ( bg, Сотир Стефанов Цацаров) (born 28 September 1966) is a Bulgarian jurist who served as the chief prosecutor of Bulgaria from December 2012 until December 2019. Tsatsarov allegedly owes his appointme ...
*
Boris Velchev
Boris Vladimirov Velchev ( bg, Борис Владимиров Велчев) (born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian jurist who served as the chief prosecutor of Bulgaria between 2006 and 2012, being the youngest person to hold the position.
Biograp ...
*
Nikola Filchev
*
Ivan Tatarchev
Ivan Nikolov Tatarchev ( bg, Иван Николов Татарчев; 29 August 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a Bulgarian jurist who served as the chief prosecutor of Bulgaria between 1992 and 1999.
Biography
In 1952, Tatarchev finished his ...
*
Martin Gounev Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austra ...
History
:''See also'': ''
History of Bulgaria since 1989
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
''
Much of the
post-Communist
Post-communism is the period of political and economic transformation or transition in former communist states located in Eastern Europe and parts of Africa and Asia in which new governments aimed to create free market-oriented capitalist economi ...
Bulgarian mafia originates from the professional
sportsmen
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-develo ...
and especially the
wrestler
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...
s of the
Communist period (1944–1989). The
Iliev brothers
A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
,
Krasimir "Big Margin" Marinov and
Iliya Pavlov
Iliya Pavlov Naydenov ( bg, Илия Павлов Найденов; August 6, 1960 – March 7, 2003) was a Bulgarian businessman. A banker, financier, philanthropist and reputed Bulgarian mafia boss, he was the leader and founder of the Multi ...
were all students of the school for future champions "Olympic Hopes" (Bulgarian: "Олимпийски надежди").
[Залязват ли мутрите, или облакът е тъмен. Йово НИКОЛОВ. В-к Капитал. Брой 35, 03 септември 2005, 00:00]
In post-1990 Bulgaria, the word борец ("wrestler") came to denote a mafia man (a common
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
is мутра (mutra),
literally "mug, or mean mug"). The image of the Bulgarian "mug", including a sturdy muscular build, a black suit,
sunglasses
Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names below) are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can s ...
, a shaved head, and
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
en
jewellery
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...
, became synonymous with the so-called Bulgarian "transition" (
to market economy). These wrestlers were also known to own expensive cars with license plates with double numbers so that strangers would recognize their status as elite criminals.
[
]
The wrestlers came to control much of Bulgarian
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
, so the word "businessman" acquired similar undertones. The wrestlers also infiltrated Bulgarian politics (it was often alleged that
SIC
The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...
and
VIS were connected to the two main parties of the 1990s, the
Bulgarian Socialist Party
The Bulgarian Socialist Party ( bg, Българска социалистическа партия, translit=Balgarska sotsialisticheska partiya, BSP), also known as The Centenarian ( bg, Столетницата, links=no, translit=Stoletnitsat ...
and the
Union of Democratic Forces, respectively).
As the UDF government (1997–2001) made the registration of the criminal insurance businesses more difficult, much of their networks and personnel were integrated into existing legal insurance firms, while at the same time the principal bosses moved the focus of their attention to
smuggling
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
, trade and
privatization
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
.
During the government of
National Movement Simeon II
The National Movement for Stability and Progress ( bg, Национално движение за стабилност и възход, translit=Natsionalno dvizhenie za stabilnost i vazhod, NDSV) is a liberal, populist political party in Bulgari ...
(2001–2005), assassinations became especially common. Throughout the Post-Communist period, evidence has often surfaced to show the close ties between the criminal networks and politicians and officials. UDF
chief prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...
Ivan Tatarchev allegedly recreated together with
Ivo Karamanski
Ivo Karamanski ( bg, Иво Карамански) (November 29, 1959 in Sofia, Bulgaria – December 20, 1998) was a reputed Bulgarian mobster. His life was difficult from the very beginning with his mother dying when he was only four years old. In ...
, NMS-II
finance minister
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
Milen Velchev was photographed playing cards with
Ivan "The Doctor" Todorov, and BSP
interior minister
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
Rumen Petkov
Rumen Petkov ( bg, Румен Петков; 26 January 1948 – 10 June 2018) was a Bulgarian animator, painter and comic creator. He is best remembered for his animated series ''Choko the Stork and Boko the Frog'', which he also adapted into a c ...
negotiated with the shadowy "
Galev brothers".
See also
*
Multigroup
Multigroup was a Conglomerate (company), business conglomerate in Bulgaria. Its founder is the Bulgarian businessman Iliya Pavlov, who was its leader until his assassination on March 7, 2003. In 1995, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republ ...
*
Naglite Naglite (''-lee-te'') ( bg, Наглите), literally The Insolent Ones, was a Bulgarian criminal group involved in more than ten high-profile kidnappings in 2008–09. They asked for ransoms of several hundred thousand euros in each case, and in t ...
*
VIS
General:
*
Crime in Bulgaria
Crime in Bulgaria is combated by the Bulgarian police and other agencies. The United States Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security ranks Bulgaria's crime rating as High.
Crime by type Murder
In 2018, Bulgaria had a murder rate ...
References
WikiLeaks Cables - Bulgarian mafia*
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Further reading
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* Centre for the Study of Democracy (2003
''The Drug Market In Bulgaria''* Misha Glenny, ''The Rebirth Of History: Eastern Europe in the Age of Democracy'' (Penguin Books, 1990)
* Misha Glenny, ''The Fall of Yugoslavia'' (Penguin Books, 1992)
* Misha Glenny, ''The Balkans: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers, 1804-1999'' (Penguin Books, 1999)
* Misha Glenny
''McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld''(
The Bodley Head
The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...
in the UK and
Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
in the US, 2008)
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulgarian Mafia
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"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
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