The former head of the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) Stoyan Mavrodiev, wanted, rented an apartment in Dubai from Chavdar Alexandrov, also known as Chocho Alexandrov or Chocho Nesebarskiy. In the past, Alexandrov was a representative of VIS-2 and a loyal man of the murdered crime boss Georgi Iliev, and now he has the fame of being a confidant of Boyko Borisov and Delyan Peevski. What is even more scandalous is that Mavrodiev became a resident of Dubai in March 2017, months before he became head of the state-owned BBR. This is revealed by new data on property owners and tenants in Dubai, processed by the international investigation “Dubai Unlocked” /Dubai Unlocked/ with the participation of OCCRP, BIRD.BG and journalists from 75 media.
The apartment used by Stoyan Mavrodiev has an area of just over 102 sq.m. in the “Lamtara 1” building, which is located in the luxury complex Madina Jumeirah Living. The complex is near the famous “Jumeirah” and the “Burj al Arab” hotel. It is shaped like the stretched sail of a sailing boat (in the lead photo). A real estate agency manages properties for investors in the complex and offers the so-called “ready to apply” (ready to move in) apartments.
Mavrodiev's apartment rent is €45,300 per year (AED 180,000). This makes 3,775 euros monthly rent for 102 sq.m. in the luxury complex. The lease is for one year until August 29, 2024. It is not clear if it has been renewed after that.
In the data from Dubai Unlocked, Stoyan Mavrodiev's phone number is indicated, but it is answered by another person who does not know him.
In August 2024, the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office (SGS) announced that it was accusing Stoyan Mavrodiev, businessman Rumen Gaitanski of embezzlement on a particularly large scale – The wolf and the lawyer Ivan Georgiev. The charge was brought because of an unserviced BGN 150 million loan granted by the BBR to Gaitanski's company. BIRD revealed in May 2022 that Valka had taken BGN 46 million from BBR into his personal account and had bought a yacht for over 1 million euros.
At the moment, there is no information whether the Bulgarian authorities are looking for Stoyan Mavrodiev outside the country, whether a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) has been issued and whether the assistance of Interpol has been sought. The only message is about his search in Bulgaria. The court records do not reveal a request by the prosecutor's office to issue an EZA.
Head of the BBR – resident in Dubai
Stoyan Mavrodiev was elected director of the state BBR in September 2017. At the same time, however, he was already a resident in Dubai. This is shown by the data on the visas and residence permits issued to Mavrodiev, which BIRD obtained within the framework of the international investigation “Unlocked Dubai”. The status “resident” in Dubai is given to foreign citizens who have obtained the right of permanent residence in the territory of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Stoyan Mavrodiev is a cadre of GERB, one of the authors of the economic program of the party. In 2009, he became an MP in the first term of office of Boyko Borisov. In 2010, Mavrodiev became the chairman of the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC), where he remained until 2016, before heading the state BBR.
The most scandalous moment of this period of Stoyan Mavrodiev's biography is his summoning as a witness in the case of money laundering from drug trafficking against the “Cocaine King” Evelyn Banev – Brando. Mavrodiev did not appear in court, but it is clear from the case that his signature is on documents of offshore companies and powers of attorney of the defendants. Brendo was sentenced to 6 years in prison for laundering money from drug trafficking. In addition to Bulgaria, Banev received two more sentences in Italy and Romania of 20 and 10 years each for cocaine trafficking. In the summer, after 6 years of hiding, Brendo turned himself in at the Sofia Central Prison.
The villas of Stoyan Mavrodiev on Halkidiki, in Greece, are also connected with offshore. In August, BIRD published a Facebook post with drone photos of the three villas, which was deleted by Meta (formerly Facebook) moderators for unclear reasons. Capital informs about offshore companies in 2020. And we found out about the villas from a leaked recording with Mavrodiev's voice and the participation of Dimitar Lambovski, in which he talks about “Shishi” and purchases of houses in Greece, one of which was for Boyko Borisov.
From the report of Lambovski's interrogation in the case “The Eight Dwarfs” it becomes clear that the deal for the sale of the luxurious Greek villas from Lambovski to Mavrodiev-related offshore companies was intercepted by the famous Pepi Euroto. The sale was used by the Euro as a tool to pressure Lambovski to ensure his participation in the scheme to embezzle 550 thousand euros of cash from Yavor Zlatanov.
After the recording became public, Mavrodiev filed a report to the prosecutor's office (ex. pr. 17276/2020 SGP) against Lambovski for extortion(?!), but then – unbelievable as it is – The SGP refuses to deal with it. At the same time, during the time of Ivan Geshev, the prosecutor's office crushed the report against Mavrodiev for tax evasion and money laundering filed by BOEP (Ex. pr. 18292/2021 SGP). The anonymous monitoring prosecutor's motives for refusing to initiate criminal proceedings remain hidden. Both Euroto and Mavrodiev are still in hiding to this day.
The landlord – Visadzhiya, Zoro Iliev
's man
Chavdar Alexandrov – Chocho Nesebarski, as the locals call him, also known as Chocho Alexandrov, already at the tender age of 20, became known as a nouveau riche-millionaire and the nice young man next to the boss of VIS-2, Georgi Iliev. In the past, he had ambitions to conquer local power. In 2007, he founded the business party DELA, which subsequently merged into GERB in 2011. In the same year, during the local elections, an associate of Aleksandrov was arrested for buying votes.
In 2015, Chavdar Alexandrov was arrested for beating. However, the prosecutor's office washed it away.
After many years of a luxurious life and an umbrella from all the authorities, the business in our country of Chavdar Aleksandrov, who is said to be a big rich man on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, is collapsing. His construction, hotel, private jet airline, yacht and real estate businesses are in liquidation, bankruptcy or under new ownership.
However, this does not apply to Dubai, where Chocho Nesebarski spends his money. Thanks to the international investigation “Dubai Unlocked”, BIRD is now able to establish his serious investments in several luxury properties – apartments and villas, incl. of “The Palm” – the artificial island of Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.
BIRD attempted to contact Chavdar Alexandrov for comment. We also sent him an SMS, but a reply was not received until the editorial completion of the article.