{"id":77285,"date":"2021-06-28T12:33:30","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T09:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bivol.bg\/?p=77285"},"modified":"2021-06-30T10:23:38","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T07:23:38","slug":"peevski-exerts-influence-through-lawyers-pouring-millions-into-reallocating-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bivol.bg\/en\/peevski-exerts-influence-through-lawyers-pouring-millions-into-reallocating-company.html","title":{"rendered":"Peevski exerts influence through lawyers pouring millions into reallocating company"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aviora Consult, the legal firm servicing Delyan Peevski’s businesses and hiring high-level lobbyists to defend him against Magnitsky Act measures in the USA, has received over 19 million BGN from Peevski himself, from a company he owns and from tobacco producer Bulgartabac. Attorneys Sasho Angelov and Geno Andreev have then withdrawn a large part of the money in their personal capacity.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Five million BGN received from Bulgartabac is <\/span>not included in the company’s annual financial reports. <\/b>The money is most likely from a loan issued by the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB). Peevski has paid the lawyers 1.7 million BGN in his personal capacity but he is <\/span>not registered under Bulgaria’s VAT law<\/b>. This has become clear from the company’s registers, which were seen by Bivol and are at the disposal of the National Revenue Agency. The data we have managed to acquire and investigate is not entirely complete but is quite detailed and sheds light on Peevski’s methods for exerting influence in various areas, businesses and institutions through individuals and companies loyal to him. <\/span>The tax authority has so far ignored the above data and the government has made no indication that it plans to scrutinise the ownership of Bulgartabac.<\/b><\/p>\n

THE REVENUE<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
05.01.2017<\/td>\nBG831636680<\/td>\n\u0411\u0443\u043b\u0433\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430\u0431\u0430\u043a \u0425\u043e\u043b\u0434\u0438\u043d\u0433 \u0410\u0414<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n240,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10.02.2017<\/td>\nBG831636680<\/td>\n\u0411\u0443\u043b\u0433\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430\u0431\u0430\u043a \u0425\u043e\u043b\u0434\u0438\u043d\u0433 \u0410\u0414<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n200,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
28.03.2017<\/td>\nBG831636680<\/td>\n\u0411\u0443\u043b\u0433\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430\u0431\u0430\u043a \u0425\u043e\u043b\u0434\u0438\u043d\u0433 \u0410\u0414<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n340,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14.03.2017<\/td>\nBG831636680<\/td>\n\u0411\u0443\u043b\u0433\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430\u0431\u0430\u043a \u0425\u043e\u043b\u0434\u0438\u043d\u0433 \u0410\u0414<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n200,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10.04.2017<\/td>\nBG831636680<\/td>\n\u0411\u0443\u043b\u0433\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430\u0431\u0430\u043a \u0425\u043e\u043b\u0434\u0438\u043d\u0433 \u0410\u0414<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n300,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12.05.2017<\/td>\nBG811154751<\/td>\n\u0411\u043b\u0430\u0433\u043e\u0435\u0432\u0440\u0433\u0430\u0434-\u0411\u0422 \u0410\u0414<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n9,725,475<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
05.01.2017<\/td>\nBG831636680<\/td>\n\u0411\u0443\u043b\u0433\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430\u0431\u0430\u043a \u0425\u043e\u043b\u0434\u0438\u043d\u0433 \u0410\u0414<\/td>\n\u041a\u043e\u0440\u0435\u043a\u0446\u0438\u044f<\/td>\n-40,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
30.08.2017<\/td>\nBG800727XXXX<\/td>\n\u0414\u0435\u043b\u044f\u043d \u0421\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0447\u0435\u0432 \u041f\u0435\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n150,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15.08.2017<\/td>\nBG831636680<\/td>\n\u0411\u0443\u043b\u0433\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430\u0431\u0430\u043a \u0425\u043e\u043b\u0434\u0438\u043d\u0433 \u0410\u0414<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n120,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17.11.2017<\/td>\nBG800727XXXX<\/td>\n\u0414\u0435\u043b\u044f\u043d \u0421\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0447\u0435\u0432 \u041f\u0435\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n90,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
21.05.2018<\/td>\nBG800727XXXX<\/td>\n\u0414\u0435\u043b\u044f\u043d \u0421\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0447\u0435\u0432 \u041f\u0435\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n170,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
26.07.2018<\/td>\nBG800727XXXX<\/td>\n\u0414\u0435\u043b\u044f\u043d \u0421\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0447\u0435\u0432 \u041f\u0435\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n257,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
07.08.2018<\/td>\n550722XXXX<\/td>\n\u0418\u0440\u0435\u043d\u0430 \u0410\u043d\u0433\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0430 \u041a\u0440\u044a\u0441\u0442\u0435\u0432\u0430<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n7,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14.12.2018<\/td>\nBG20253XXXX<\/td>\n\u0414\u0438 \u0410\u0440 \u0421\u0438 \u0418\u043d\u0432\u0435\u0441\u0442 \u0415\u041e\u041e\u0414<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n1,800,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14.12.2018<\/td>\nBG800727XXXX<\/td>\n\u0414\u0435\u043b\u044f\u043d \u0421\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0447\u0435\u0432 \u041f\u0435\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n55,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16.01.2019<\/td>\nBG800727XXXX<\/td>\n\u0414\u0435\u043b\u044f\u043d \u0421\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0447\u0435\u0432 \u041f\u0435\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n335,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19.06.2019<\/td>\nBG800727XXXX<\/td>\n\u0414\u0435\u043b\u044f\u043d \u0421\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0447\u0435\u0432 \u041f\u0435\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n130,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
25.06.2019<\/td>\nBG800727XXXX<\/td>\n\u0414\u0435\u043b\u044f\u043d \u0421\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0447\u0435\u0432 \u041f\u0435\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n160,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
23.06.2019<\/td>\nBG800727XXXX<\/td>\n\u0414\u0435\u043b\u044f\u043d \u0421\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0447\u0435\u0432 \u041f\u0435\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n55,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18.06.2019<\/td>\nBG811154751<\/td>\n\u0411\u043b\u0430\u0433\u043e\u0435\u0432\u0440\u0433\u0430\u0434-\u0411\u0422 \u0410\u0414<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n5,000,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19.12.2019<\/td>\nBG800727XXXX<\/td>\n\u0414\u0435\u043b\u044f\u043d \u0421\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0447\u0435\u0432 \u041f\u0435\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438<\/td>\n\u0423\u0441\u043b\u0443\u0433\u0438<\/td>\n340,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n\u041e\u0431\u0449\u043e<\/td>\n<\/td>\n19,634,475<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n\u041f\u0435\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438<\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,749,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n\u0411\u0443\u043b\u0433\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430\u0431\u0430\u043a \u0425\u043e\u043b\u0434\u0438\u043d\u0433 \u0410\u0414<\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,360,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n\u0411\u043b\u0430\u0433\u043e\u0435\u0432\u0433\u0440\u0430\u0434-\u0411\u0422 \u0410\u0414<\/td>\n<\/td>\n14,725,475<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n\u0414\u0438 \u0410\u0440 \u0421\u0438 \u0418\u043d\u0432\u0435\u0441\u0442 \u0415\u041e\u041e\u0414 (\u041f\u0435\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438)<\/td>\n<\/td>\n1,800,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
<\/div>\n

The money received by the legal firm comes from a total of 5 customers controlled by Delyan Peevski. Among them are Blagoevgrad BT, which paid Aviora 14.7 million BGN, Bulgartabak Holding with 1.4 million, DRC Invest (Doreco Commerce) with 1.8 million and Peevski himself with 1.7 million BGN. In the interval 2017-2019 Peevski personally paid Aviora 1,742,000 levs for their services. Companies linked to Peevski paid the legal firm a total of nearly 17.8 million levs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of those substantial revenues likely come from loans received from the <\/span>Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB)<\/b>, which has been issuing financial support to the Bulgartabac group since 2016. One of those companies \u2013 Blagoevgrad BT \u2013 has received a 126 million BGN loan from BDB, an investigation by <\/span>Capital<\/span><\/a> has revealed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Delyan Peevski does not currently hold any official ownership in any of the companies in the Bulgartabac Holding group. In the past few years, however, he has been their owner and has legitimised millions through company shares and dividends. The state has never before taken the initiative to examine who is behind the offshore companies in control of 92% of the company’s shares. According to the 2018 shareholder book those are three companies based in UAE free zones:\u00a0TI Holding FZE with 12.23%, Lawand General Trading FZE with 13.97%, Gifted Master LTD (Adjman) with 18.10%; and two more based in Lichtenstein: Woodford Establishment with 33% and Stiga Anstalt with 14.75%.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the years Bivol has built up the most substantial archive of investigations and publications on <\/span>Bulgartabac<\/b>‘s criminal privatisation and activities, its ties to Delyan Peevski and to political, economic, financial and criminal entities (see <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>). For years Bulgarian government institutions have placed a taboo over any inquiries or investigations into the story of Bulgartabac \u2013 the way the largest tobacco holding in Europe was privatised and then plundered. A comprehensive revision of the entire Bulgartabac saga would be the litmus indicating a shift in the deep behind-the-scenes-powers within the state and the unravelling of the main criminal networks of corruption and oligarchy in Bulgaria.<\/span><\/p>\n

Information about payments to Aviora is easily traceable and the National Revenue Agency should be aware of the financial flows. Besides, Delyan Peevski in his personal capacity was not registered\u00a0 under the VAT Law after March 2018, which should have immediately flashed a red light at the NRA regarding his revenues. Before that date Peevski paid Aviora 240,000 BGN and <\/span>after his VAT deregistration he paid a further 1.5 million BGN<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It should be investigated what kind of funds Peevski used to pay his personal fees to Aviora after his VAT deregistration and whether any VAT on those revenues was paid. Large-scale tax evasion is punishable under the Penal Code by \u201cthree to eight years of imprisonment and partial or full confiscation of the perpetrator’s property.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Magnitsky case<\/b><\/h2>\n

It is notable that Aviora’s company revenue increased severalfold in 2017. The dramatic growth can also be seen in the annual financial reports submitted by the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Aviora Consult’s annual financial report for 2017. The difference in revenues and expenses compared to the previous year can be seen clearly.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

This raises the question what caused the sudden increase in Aviora’s revenue and expenses in 2017 in particular. Annual financial reports submitted after that year have not been published yet. The company’s balance sheets, which Bivol has access to, show that Aviora continued to operate at much higher turnover rates.<\/span><\/p>\n

2017<\/b>\u00a0wasn’t just a year like any other for Peevski and Aviora. It was the year when the dossier under the <\/span>Magnitsky Act<\/b> was opened in the USA and the procedure to impose sanctions was first initiated. The legal defence of the then MRF member of parliament and local oligarch was entrusted to the American lobbying group <\/span>BGR Government<\/b>. The company is managed and consulted by former long-serving FBA agent and chief <\/span>Thomas Locke<\/span><\/a>. Locke himself is responsible for lobbying in favour of Delyan Peevski with the State Department, the Department of Justice, the Treasury and the National Revenue Service. The initial contract with BGR was negotiated by attorney Miglena Hristova, who has close ties to Peevski. Hristova has been a board member at Bulgartabac Holding, Lafka market, Blagoevgrad BT, Sofia BT and Shumen Tabac. The contract was signed by <\/span>Paraskev Paraskevov<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 a former state security service officer, former deputy interior minister in Jean Videnov’s government and father of attorney <\/span>Alexander Angelov<\/b>. The contract provisions include regular monthly payments of 30,000 USD and the reimbursement of additional lobbying expenses. That means that within a year Peevski’s payments to the American lobbyists via Aviora must have grown to the amount of several hundred thousand dollars. The precise final amount would be very hard to estimate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"\u041c\u0440\u0435\u0436\u0438\u0442\u0435<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\"\u041c\u0440\u0435\u0436\u0438\u0442\u0435<\/div>\n
\"\u041c\u0440\u0435\u0436\u0438\u0442\u0435<\/div>\n

The expenses<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Attorney Alexander Angelov, Aviora Consult owner and CEO<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0 Aviora’s espense column contains staggering amounts. The company’s owner Alexander Angelov is the highest paid person, having received 12.8 million BGN in fees. In early 2019 Angelov was exposed by Bivol as the actual owner of the offshore company Viafort, which was behind the attack on weapons producer Dunarit, trying to seize it from Emilian Gebrev with help from the Prosecutor’s Office and the National Revenue Agency. Gebrev and his son were poisoned with novichok and nearly died. Angelov denied being Peevski’s lawyer until Bivol exposed his hidden ties to the former MP’s networks. All our attempts to obtain any comments from Alexander Angelov have been met with a refusal to speak to us.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bulgartabac and Lafka director Miglena Hristova, who is Peevski’s correspondent in his defence under the Magnitsky Act, has received 1.4 million USD. Another 500,000 has been transferred to attorney Geno Andreev. Attorney <\/span>Vanya Zhelyazkova<\/b> was also paid about 30,000 BGN by Aviora. \u00a0Our inquiry has revealed that she is the daughter of another one of Peevski’s collaborators sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act for criminal activities \u2013 <\/span>Ilko Dimitrov Zhelyazkov<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Panama Papers: Trusted Lawyer of Controversial MP Owns Key Offshores, Ghost of Bulgarian KGB<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n