Why Is Architect Stanishev Threatening to Thrash Journalists over a Controversial Project? Mind the horns!

Sergei Stanishev, (leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, of the Party of European Socialists, PES, and former Prime Minister of Bulgaria – editor’s note), his brother, architect Georgiy Stanishev, (right) and Lord Norman Foster (center-right) at Foster’s exhibit in Sofia in December 2007. A few months later, the state swapped 700 decares of land from one of the few remaining wild beaches in Bulgaria – Karadere – for Foster-Stanishev’s project “Black Sea Gardens.”

Clearly edgy over the documentary discoveries of Bivol, architect Georgiy Stanishev vowed to thrash anyone who says he is associated with the project for construction in Karadere. Bivol argued that there was such connection and there is to date. Here are the facts:

Fact 1: The architectural design office of Georgiy Stanishev – “Projects” – is the Bulgarian partner of world-renowned architect Norman Foster in the design of the vacation village “Black Sea Gardens”.

Foster, himself, came to Bulgaria, where in late 2007 an exhibition of his work was organized. There, Lord Foster was introduced by Georgiy Stanishev, by then Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and by Minister Assen Gagauzov, who viewed his projects. The project for construction on the beach Karadere, named “Black Sea Gardens,” was also presented at this event.

Foster’s Bulgarian architectural adventure did not go unnoticed by the British press: “What we as the Bulgarian team of architects and Foster and Partners are doing is absolutely adequate to the legislation and the laws of this country,” is how Georgiy Stanishev was quoted by the most prestigious British newspaper – The Guardian – on July 14, 2008 .

Fact 2: On May 26, 2008, (six months after Lord Foster’s showoff in Sofia), the scandalous swap of 700 decares from Karadere between the State Forestry Agency and the company Madara Byala was inked. This land was to be used for architect Georgiy Stanishev’s project “Black Sea Gardens.” How this happened is absolutely explicable: with state protection at the highest level.

Excerpt from the Property Registry for the 700 decares from Karadere beach, swapped by the state, against “property in another region”

Fact 3: The revised draft, presented by the company Madara Europe, which received investment class A a few days ago, is the same draft prepared by Foster and Stanishev, but downsized to construction of fewer buildings – three hotels and 1,500 houses with apartments. Madara Europe explicitly stated in its reports in 2013 that the quality of the project’s design of “Foster and Partners” was a guarantee for successful sales. In addition, the company planned to ensure its building permit with the help of the designers. How exactly this guarantee would happen – the same way as the swap, providing land for the project – through state protection at the highest level.

Excerpt from the proposal of the Board of Directors of Madara Europe from 2013:

Such investors have been attracted to the project “Black Sea Gardens” due to the relatively low prices, opportunities for renting and quality of the design of Foster + Partners.”

The management intends to reduce the size of the project and to recruit international and local architects with extensive experience to ensure that the project “Black Sea Gardens” meets all legal requirements for obtaining a building permit.

(The bolding is done by the editor of Bivol)

Fact 4: The rights to the architectural design are subject to a contract, which is valid to date, between the offshore company “Madara Bulgarian Property Fund Limited,” registered in Jersey, and “BBT Projects.” This is evident from a document of the Financial Supervision Commission (Decision № 19 from January 4, 2013), which described accurately the said rights.

Meanwhile, however, the Bulgarian company will assume the obligation to “Madara Bulgarian Property Fund Limited” to “BBT Projects” in the amount of 3 million. That is – the rights settlement also has a financial dimension.

Therefore, architect Georgiy Stanishev has an interest in the project as the writer has interest to have his manuscript published. At least, he will list it in his portfolio, but he may also obtain financial benefits from the planned construction. Either way, based of the above listed facts, we can properly say the following: 1. There was a conflict of interests of the family Stanishev in the swap in 2008 and 2. The contract for rights to the project, which we know exists, answers the question if there is a current conflict of interests of the family Stanishev.

We expect from architect Stanishev to show the contract for the rights to the project and to give explanations of how exactly he intends to beat journalists – in the police precinct, by using thugs or in person?

Such talk on air, in a live broadcast, about thrashing journalists, coming from the brother of the leader of PES and of of the ruling party in Bulgaria is a clear sign and message of mob law! It is a herald of the onset and return of obscurantism and the mafia times from the term of the Three-Party coalition, when journalists became direct targets of gangster-style attacks and crimes. Moreover, architect Georgiy Stanishev is associated with such precedent. We will tell our readers about one such attack, directly related to a publication in 2007 about architect Georgiy Stanishev, in our next article.

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