Livestock breeder Mihail Mihailov from the village of Drachevo accuses the mayor of Burgas, Dimitar Nikolov, of participating in a corruption scheme, the aim of which is to seize his business, built over years. He claims that he received nearly BGN 2.5 million in cash in envelopes and bags from the mayor and persons related to him. According to him, he had no document for these funds.
In a video broadcast by the journalist Sasho Dikov on Eurocom, Mihailov claimed that he knew Dimitar Nikolov even before he took the post of mayor of Burgas:
„We have known him since 2004, when we founded the company AGRO-ID OOD . We have implemented a total of 9 projects worth BGN 12 million, which created a modern base for the development of the farm, and with the construction of a dairy, we closed the processing of primary products. Dimitar Nikolov and I saw each other almost every Saturday and Sunday. All projects were approved by Dimitar Nikolov, as he always insisted on the maximum budget for the measures. Naturally, the projects went smoothly through the Agriculture Fund. I have given only one to a consultant – 220,000 leva, so that the project can move upwards. (…) The company was founded with persons representing the mayor. Almost 17 years of working together. Almost every Saturday-Sunday we gathered here, where we discussed further – the farm, what projects to implement.“
Mahailov claims that he received money not only from Nikolov, but also from his partners in the company – Simeon Simeonov, Ivan Mzhzgulov, Ruzhdi Hassan and from the director of OP „Sportni Imoti“ Zhivko Ivanov. In his words, “one day Dimitar Nikolov and Nikifor Vidrov came to me and I was forced to sign a loan agreement of 1.6 million BGN”.
The last projects of 2019-2020 were very large, Mihailov commented, adding that he did not agree “with their project being the maximum of the measure, but anyway I was confident that in case of need help would be provided”.
“That’s how we made these projects for 8 million BGN, which were beyond the capacity of the company’s production activity to support these. Apparently, the goal is that when the monitoring of the projects expires – April next year, he will purchase property, which is equal to over 16 million BGN”, he specifies.
“The moment the loan was due to be refinanced, that’s when the light bulb came on for me that this was a scam being set up to acquire the partner’s assets at discounted prices, and if it could happen, it could happen for free, as things are as they are at the moment”, Mihailov also points out in the video.
The livestock breeder claims that there are other farms like his – they were in a circle of companies in which Nikolov had placed his own persons. They were made to do each other favors.
The problems started when the entire cycle of horizontal and vertical integration of Mihailov’s farm was completed and it could start making a lot of money.
“In that case, I’m redundant and he can continue on his own. Now this must be conceded in a scheme which is built up in time for all this to be done, and then seized. And those who have worked hard will actually be left without property and without a future”, he claims.
In 2021, his company parted with the following properties, commented Mihailov, holding a document in the video. The first, according to him, is a house in the village of Velika, where Nikolov lived. It was transferred to Simeon Simeonov. She also parted with an office in the capital and a property in Burgas with a tax assessment of BGN 400,000, which was sold for BGN 10,000.
“I was obliged to withdraw the amounts I received and hand them back to the buyers. Dimitar Nikolov’s nephew bought a brand new Peugeot through the company using a fake power of attorney”, adds the owner.
The case study was also commented by Konstantin Bachiyski. In front of Sasho Dikov, he claims that he can confirm the authenticity of what Mihailov said. According to him, various institutions in the state have been examining the case for years, but interestingly, no one has taken action, although Mihailov has referred all competent authorities.
