I initially contacted the GDBOP around 2022. because I had concerns that what happened to me could also happen to Nikolai, Niki Zlatkov, who is now deceased, told BIRD the young man named Valery (today he is 31 years old), a former student of Ivaylo Kalushev. He refuses to have his face photographed in front of the media.
“I would like an investigation to be carried out and to prevent it if something is happening. In total, there are four contacts with the services, specifically for the case of “Petrokhan” "I have had two interrogations," he shared.
The young man testified again, but only on February 4, 2026, two days after Ivaylo Ivanov, Plamen Stattev and Decho Vassilev were found dead near the Petrokhan hut. He was questioned again on February 10, after the deaths of Ivaylo Kalushev, Nikolay Zlatkov and the minor Alexander near Okolchitsa Peak, and the recording of testimony lasted for over five hours. A day later, his testimony from February 4 was published by the media, including with his name, and his mother, Sofia, gave an interview on Mirolyuba Benatova and Genka Shikerova's program "Agenda", in which she acquitted Kalushev and his community and referred to her son as a "moral murderer" of Kalushev's group.
As early as 2022, the young man gave detailed information about his life with Ivo Kalushev, about his sexual relationship with him, which began when he was 15 years old, as well as about huge donations that he transferred to his guru and his close associates.
“I wanted to protect myself so that this information would not leak out in advance, before they had conducted an investigation. That it would not reach Ivo Kalushev, which later turned out to have happened.”
“I was afraid of him…., that he would not interfere with other people…maybe even for his life, I would say” – he admitted.
“I was afraid that this statement would not reach my mother, so that there would be no leakage of information to Kalushev, with whom she was extremely close and most likely she would tell him and he would take measures to cover it up”.
Which is what happens. In her interview, his mother tells how Kalushev addresses her with the words: “Control your son!”. Our team confirmed the information that in 2022 Valeri spoke to agents of the State Anti-Corruption Bureau. His testimony to the Ministry of Internal Affairs from February 4 has also leaked, and he recognizes exact wording from what he tells the police. He does not have any documents or case numbers to confirm that any of the interrogations actually took place. However, some of the conversations take place in front of witnesses, which you can hear more about in the audio file. Our team sent questions to the Ministry of Interior to clarify what actions have been taken in connection with the investigation and ensuring the safety of the key witness.
Valery does not deny that he regularly smoked marijuana, but he does not consider himself a drug addict, as his mother Sofia stated.
“I really had not started on a good path, but to be thrown out as if I was on the verge of madness, or an absolutely miserable human being, that is simply not the case”, he said.
According to Valery, his mother suggested that he introduce Ivaylo Kalushev to him when he was about 12 years old. At that time, however, the child showed no interest. A few years later, however, he turned out to be one of the first children to live in the company of the self-proclaimed guru. The pretext for all of them is similar: to “save” the child from bad habits and environment.
The teenager's sexual relationship with Kalushev began in Kraevo, a small village in the Sofia region, where he lived with the guru and his closest friends - Nevena Ilieva and Deyan Iliev.
At the moment, neither of them have spoken publicly. Very little is known about Nevena Ilieva, she can be seen in photos from Mexico on Facebook, and according to various sources, as well as the now closed website of the spiritual community movement Skydharma, Iliev is one of Kalushev's closest people and his right hand.
According to Valeri's recollections, he was 15 or 16 years old at the time, and the transition to sexual assaults, although they were non-violent, went through hypnotherapy sessions and conversations about sexuality. The young man says that he was photographed by Kalushev in intimate situations and that he also saw a photo of another person from the group.
According to the young man, it is quite possible that Kalushev's close friends knew about their relationship when he was a child, especially when they traveled together on a yacht across the Atlantic Ocean.
“I was very ashamed and always tried to cover it up, while he [Kalushev] didn't seem to care that much. I think they might have known”, he said.
”He was a grown man and I even perceived him as a father figure at first. As disgusting as it is in the context of everything that happened after”, the former “student” also shared.
According to Valeri, his family bought the house in Kraevo, where he lived with Kalushev and people from his closest circle for about six months. His family, which has a successful business, makes numerous donations, which in the community are called “offerings”, with which they buy a boat and properties in Mexico. His mother Sofia also admitted that she was among Kalushev's donors. According to Valeri, his family donated over one million leva to Kalushev and his friends. When the young man turned 18, he traveled to Bulgaria to drain the savings accounts set aside for his education.
The tendency to donate also goes through a process of manipulation and sometimes even pressure. Thus, the other members of the group also sell cars and properties in order to “contribute”. “Everyone sold what they had”, Valeri said.
“For me, this is definitely a sect, now that some time has passed and I have distanced myself from them, this is clear to me”.
He does not deny that Kalushev was an exceptionally good speleologist and diver, but he believes that there was an “inflated bubble” around the business successes of the “sect”.
“The misconception has always been that the activities of Diving Mexico are extremely successful and money is being made… The truth is that back then we did not do many courses, especially for people outside the immediate community. The real clients we had, excluding various Bulgarians who came along for the spiritual or mountain circles or other people who came to visit… "can be counted on the fingers of one hand," the young man is categorical.
In Mexico, the "sect" did not engage in environmental protection activities. Valery remembers a mass logging on their property for construction purposes, as well as a case in which they killed bats from the underwater cave that they were developing as a tourist site.
"I personally burned them at the stake," he said.
Valery remembers that he had seen weapons hidden in secret places in the house in Kraevo.
"When I asked him [Kalushev] about these weapons, he said that they had a defaced number. I didn't understand what that meant at the time. He said: for protection."
"I would say that he always had a fascination with technology, weapons and this type of thing. In general, many things impressed me then, which I now explain with this rangerism that he has grown into”, he commented.
Valery says that the deterioration of his relationship with Kalushev was a long process, partly related to the constant persuasion of donations from his family. According to him, there were frequent scandals, and at one point he began to self-harm.
“But specifically for Niki, as soon as he came to me, a light bulb started to go on in my head and I started to ask if what was happening to me, he [Kalushev] didn't mean for Niki in a sexual sense. He was extremely young.”, shares the former “student”.
According to his recollections, the “llama” replied that the child “will be helped” and accuses him of jealousy.
“I really felt both envy and jealousy. He [Nikolai Zlatkov] very quickly became a new focus. I know how painful this is, because most likely the same thing happened to him as to me”, he says.
“I feel the saddest for Niki, because he never had a normal childhood”, the man is categorical.
Today, Valeri leads a full life, has a permanent job and a girlfriend. According to his story, in 2025, the father of Nikolay Zlatkov's half-brother also contacted him, who was worried about his second child, also sent to the hut in Petrokhan. The two communicate online and Valeri connects the worried parent with the law enforcement agencies.
“I want to express my condolences to all the relatives of the deceased. I truly feel sorry for the children and I feel that I should have done more and sooner. And that the state should have done more. Especially considering that they knew that irregularities were happening there,” he said.