Vasil Bozhkov
Vasil Bozhkov | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 29, 1956 Bulgaria |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, political figure |
| Known for | Wealthiest individual in Bulgaria, founder of Nove Holding, owner of sports clubs, political party founder |
Vasil Krumov Bozhkov (; born July 29, 1956) is a Bulgarian entrepreneur and political figure, once regarded as the wealthiest individual in Bulgaria with an estimated net worth ranging from 1 to 3 billion Bulgarian levs.
Nicknamed The Skull (Черепа, Cherepa), he was labeled by US State Department documents as "Bulgaria's most notorious gangster." In January 2020, Bozhkov escaped to Dubai to evade arrest on accusations including murder, money laundering, tax fraud, and rape.
Bozhkov completed his education at the National Mathematical High School in Sofia and earned degrees in Applied Mathematics from Sofia University as well as Labor Economics from the University of National and World Economy.
Business career
Starting his entrepreneurial journey in 1989 near Sofia’s Magura confectionery, Bozhkov initially engaged in currency trading before expanding into a network of exchange offices. In 1991, he established his flagship enterprise, Nove Holding, where he remains the principal shareholder and has held the chairman position since 2005. That same year, he collaborated with Iliya Pavlov and Mladen Mihalev-Majo to launch the gambling firm IGM, introducing casinos including one located at Sofia’s Rila Hotel. By 2007, his interests extended to co-owning casinos at Radisson SAS and Hemus hotels as well as operating bingo venues.
In 1994, Bozhkov founded the Bulgarian Commercial Industrial Bank (BTIB), which merged with Multigroup’s Credit Group by 1997. He took over assets from the bankrupt First Private Bank in 2000. Further expanding in 2006 through stock market acquisitions, he gained control of the former HD Roads privatization fund. His subsidiary Nove International oversees ABV Engineering, the main stakeholder in Holding Roads—a company that consolidated several regional state road construction enterprises previously managed by the General Directorate of Roads.
By late 2007, Bozhkov’s firms had received payments totaling 47.7 million levs from the Republican Road Infrastructure Fund amid concerns regarding fund distribution.
According to Polish publication Wprost, Bozhkov’s wealth was valued at $1 billion in 2006, increased to $1.5 billion in 2007, and was later adjusted to $1.35 billion in 2008.
He has been affiliated with the Confederation of Large Industrialists since its inception in 1993 and joined the Bulgarian Business Club "Vazrazhdane" upon its founding in 2001.
The Collection
In 2004, Bozhkov created the Thrace Foundation aimed at supporting cultural heritage preservation. Under the leadership of executive director Kiril Hristoskov, the foundation primarily displays artifacts from Bozhkov’s personal collection and has sponsored archaeological digs between 2005 and 2007.
Bozhkov’s assemblage includes antiquities reportedly exported from Bulgaria prior to 1911 as well as pieces acquired internationally. Exhibitions have been organized in Brussels (2006), Moscow (2009), and notably at the National History Museum in 2011 featuring a display of 230 Thracian and Greco-Roman relics.
As a collector, Bozhkov opposed Bulgaria’s Cultural Heritage Act passed in 2009.
Participation in the sports industry
Bozhkov established the sports betting company Eurofootball in 1993; since 2002, Greek billionaire Sokratis Kokkalis has been involved through his firm Intralot. He was elected chairman of the Bulgarian Shooting Federation in 2000 and headed the Bulgarian Chess Federation beginning in 2003. In 1999, he purchased PFC CSKA AD, selling it later to Pramod Mittal in December 2006. In a 2009 statement, he referred to footballers as "modern-day gladiators."
In February 2019, Bozhkov announced via "Nove Holding" that he had acquired ownership of PFC Levski Sofia, overseeing its funding and strategic development. He asserted having invested close to 25 million Bulgarian levs within a single year. On June 2, 2020, full ownership was transferred to football icon Nasko Sirakov.
Exploitation of the legal framework
Concerns have been voiced by financial experts and media outlets regarding Bozhkov’s alleged exploitation of minority shareholders by diverting assets from Nove Holding through opaque subsidiaries and personal incentive schemes. On 5 January 2009, an Extraordinary General Meeting of Holding Roads sanctioned an additional payment totaling 3.84 million levs to Bozhkov. Despite these allegations, the Financial Supervision Commission found no evidence of misconduct.
Allegations of organized crime connections
Bozhkov is believed to have associations with the SIC group, a Bulgarian criminal organization. He is reportedly a co-proprietor of Bull Ins insurance firm, which is officially owned by offshore companies. Bull Ins took over SIC’s insurance activities following SIC’s license revocation in 1998. His name appears in leaked WikiLeaks diplomatic cables alongside influential business figures linked to organized crime in Bulgaria. A 2009 US diplomatic document labeled Bozhkov as "the most notorious gangster," accusing him of involvement in money laundering, fraudulent privatization, intimidation, extortion, racketeering, and illicit trade in antiques.
Alleged criminal offenses
Bozhkov faces twenty charges across three separate investigations, including accusations of extortion and attempted bribery. He resided voluntarily in Dubai from January 2020 until his return to Bulgaria in August 2023, where he was subsequently detained.
In March 2022, former associates Tsvetomir and Boyan Naydenov claimed that Bozhkov admitted to orchestrating the 2006 assassination of businessman Manol Velev, who passed away in 2022 after prolonged coma.
Boyko Borissov
In 2023, Bozhkov sought to come back to Bulgaria as a protected witness against former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, accusing Borissov of receiving funds from him.
Sanctions
On 10 February 2023, the UK’s HM Treasury imposed sanctions on Bozhkov under the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations due to his involvement in significant corruption activities.
Politics
From Dubai on 8 June 2020, Bozhkov announced his intention to enter Bulgarian politics with the goal of challenging Boyko Borissov’s authority. He initiated a Facebook survey to measure public interest in a potential new political movement.
This initiative culminated in the establishment of the party Bulgarian Summer on 4 January 2021, which promoted Direct democracy under the slogan “Justice for all.” In the April 2021 parliamentary elections, the party received 94,515 votes (2.91%), falling short of the 4% electoral threshold and later declining to approximately 1.80% in the July rerun election.
While confined under house arrest, on 21 February 2024 Bozhkov revealed plans for a new political entity named "CENTER." He was appointed as the lead candidate for the "Center" coalition in the 2024 European Parliament Elections.
Personal life
Vasil Bozhkov wed Maya Angelova Bozhkova in 1980; they have one son, Anton Bozhkov, born in 1986. Maya has reportedly been residing in the United Kingdom for several years. Anton also lived in the UK and completed his studies at both the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London. He is married to Iva Sofianska, daughter of a former three-term mayor of Sofia and interim Bulgarian Prime Minister. Anton and Iva have three children, who are Bozhkov’s grandchildren.
Currently, Bozhkov is involved romantically with Elena Dineva, who is thirteen years younger and recognized within Bulgaria’s elite circles.
In fiction
In Lyudmila Filipova's book Anatomy of Illusions, the character Boris Bukov draws inspiration from Vasil Bozhkov.