Bulgarian "schematosis" of Oleh Nevzorov: how the Odesa construction mafia seized Varna’s forests

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In Bulgaria, a huge corruption scandal has erupted involving the Ukrainian developer Oleh Nevzorov. Law enforcement officials found out that his company KYB Development built up a forest in Varna without having the necessary documents for it. Near the famous resort “Golden Sands”, Nevzorov and his partners built over 100 houses during 2023-2026. Journalists came across interesting connections that the Odessite Nevzorov has, and it seems to become clear who could have covered and financed the large-scale scheme in Varna.

Oleh Nevzorov is a well-known developer in Ukraine. His company built Gagarin Plaza, Zolotyi Bereh, the Tairovski Sady residential area, the Aqua Marine residential complex, and others in Odesa. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, KYB Development has begun actively entering the Bulgarian market. According to information on the official website, the company is building at least seven real estate projects there, operates three food-service establishments, and runs a public organization supporting Ukrainians in Bulgaria.

Oleh Nevzorov is the head or co-founder of a dozen Bulgarian companies. Most of them are registered in Varna at the same address. Nevzorov’s restaurant “Time” is also located there.

The most active companies that have just come to light in the illegal construction in the Varna forest are Forest Club Varna and VilApart Arkanum. The first company has charter capital of almost 109 thousand euros. Nevzorov is its director. The founders are Ukrainian Volodymyr Fadyeyev, Bulgarian resident Hanna Livadova, and the company Godelux.

Forest Club Varna was founded in 2011, but Nevzorov joined it much later. After the company bought hotel and related premises in the Baba Alino area of Varna from another firm, “Autoexpress”. The very existence of these premises later became the pretext for obtaining permits to build in the forest, part of which was illegally cut down.

Hanna Livadova is originally from Odesa. Several cases regarding credit issues can be found in the Ukrainian court register in which she and Nevzorov appear together. She also has a relative, Nataliya Livadova, who heads at least one of the developer’s companies in Bulgaria.

The company Godelux, which owns a stake in Forest Club Varna, belongs to Ukrainian citizen Ihor Zgurov.

Igor Zgurov is a co-owner of the Odesa-based MTB Bank. Another co-owner of the banking institution is Mykhailo Partykevych, a well-known developer in Odesa.

Law enforcement officials suspected MTB Bank employees of siphoning off 300 million hryvnias through fake loans, shell companies, and fictitious additional financing.

Mykhailo Partykevych, according to Ukrainian registers, is a resident of Slovakia. At least, that is the country listed as his registered address.

Igor Zgurov, who at one time headed Odesagaz and was a deputy of the Odesa City Council, has moved to sunny Dubai. At least two addresses of his residence in the UAE can be found in the registers. One apartment is located on the artificial island The Palm Jumeirah. The building is opposite an observation deck from which the entire island can be viewed from a bird’s-eye view. Also from the building where Zgurov lives, one can access a yacht club and a private beach.

Another house in which the business partner of Oleh Nevzorov lived or lives is located in the business district of Jumeirah Lake Towers. It is a picturesque quarter with artificial canals and a view of Dubai’s tallest skyscrapers.

Hanna and Nataliya Livadova also appear in Nevzorov’s Bulgarian companies KUB Estate LTD and VilApart Arkanum. The second company owns land in various districts of Varna, including Baba Alino. It is an active participant in the development of the Varna forest that is being investigated by law enforcement agencies.

The director of Godelux, belonging to former Odesa City Council deputy Ihor Zgurov, who is Nevzorov’s business partner in the Varna construction projects, is Viacheslav Savastikov. He is an Odesa lawyer who also appears in some of Nevzorov’s Bulgarian companies.

And these are not all the Odessites whom Nevzorov brought to Varna. His partner in the restaurant business in Bulgaria is the son of Odesa businessman and local council deputy Oleksandr Polariyev – Mykhailo. The Polariyev family runs businesses in real estate and the agro-industrial complex. In 2020, the father of Nevzorov’s partner ran for the Odesa Regional Council from the pro-presidential party “Servant of the People”.

Interestingly, in the Bulgarian registers Mykhailo Polariyev is listed as a Romanian citizen. And Nevzorov is precisely planning the construction of a hotel at the airport of the capital of that country – Bucharest. This project is published on the KYB Development website.

Nevzorov has two restaurants in Varna – “Stefaniya” and Time – as well as the nightclub “Zerno”. Mykhailo Polariyev helps manage these establishments through the Bulgarian companies “4 - Rest LTD” and “Primo Rest”.

Another Bulgarian company of Oleh Nevzorov is Business Club Varna LTD. It organizes events. A partner in this business is the Odesa presenter and producer known for his work at “Prosto Radio.O”, Denys Tsykanovskyi. In his social media profile he confirms that he lives in Varna.

Co-founder of the company K&B Invest Varna LTD, registered in the summer of 2024, together with Odessite Hanna Livadova and Nevzorov’s company KUB - Developments Ltd, is Viktor Berber. He is a deputy of the Usatove Village Council of Odesa Region from the party “For the Future”. Because he forgot to declare million-hryvnia assets in his declaration, the NACP fined him 17 thousand hryvnias.

Local press reported that Berber’s wife and daughters have lived in Varna since 2022, but he did not declare this either.

Bulgarian media wrote that Viktor Berber is one of those who purchased an apartment in the forest built up by Nevzorov in Varna.

Among other buyers was named the former head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine and the Bureau of Economic Security, Vadym Melnyk. A person with that name does indeed own two companies in Bulgaria, but whether it is truly the former Ukrainian official could not be confirmed.

At least, given that the Bulgarian companies have been operating since 2016-2017, this was not reflected in any of Vadym Melnyk’s declarations. However, he is connected with Odesa, since journalists found him an apartment in an elite residential complex in a resort district, purchased at half the market price.

Four criminal proceedings have been opened so far regarding the construction in Varna: for illegal logging of the forest, for forgery of documents, for unlawful actions by local officials, and for distortion of data regarding the buildings that were located on this site before the start of Nevzorov’s large-scale construction.

Bulgarian parliament deputy Boyko Rashkov, former minister of internal affairs, states that Oleh Nevzorov fled to Turkey across the border with Romania. He also speaks of the businessman’s close contacts with Ukraine’s Ambassador to Bulgaria, Olesya Ilashchuk.

The woman denies helping Nevzorov hide. However, that they have close contacts is confirmed by numerous photos from events organized by Nevzorov’s public organization “We Together”.

The woman’s appointment to the post was accompanied by criticism, since Ilashchuk had no experience in a diplomatic position. She worked as a Gestalt therapist. At the end of last year, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Bulgaria’s stepson was detained in Odesa on suspicion of murdering the son of the deputy mayor of Kharkiv. The murder took place in Vienna. The investigation established that the deceased was struck with a blunt object and later burned in a car.

Activist and volunteer Serhiy Sternenko reported that due to the resonance, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Bulgaria, Olesya Ilashchuk, was removed from her post. However, as of now there have been no official reports of this, and the woman continues to perform her duties.

Bulgarian parliament deputy, former head of the National Security Organization Rumen Milanov, commenting on the scandalous construction in Varna, drew attention to how quickly more than 100 houses sprang up and how easily everything was coordinated with the local authorities. “To build this facility in this way, on such a scale in time and space – this means that there is the influence of powerful internal factors and external influence. This means that internal funds are directed or come from outside. They say they came from Dubai. And the issue is tracking the financial flows, which is extremely important from the point of view of financial security, which also affects national security. A big question is who stands behind these financial flows and who stands behind this enormous silence,” said General Milanov.

One of those who effectively facilitated construction in the Baba Alino area was the then head of the Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection and Water Resources in Varna, Erdzhan Ebatin. Until recently, he was a party colleague of Bulgarian oligarch and politician Delyan Peevski, who is under sanctions from the US and the UK on suspicion of large-scale corruption. According to Bulgarian media, he may control up to 80% of Bulgaria’s information market.

Peevski is acquainted with Ambassador of Ukraine Olesya Ilashchuk. They have held public meetings at least twice. At one of them, Ilashchuk presented Peevski with a certificate from the Verkhovna Rada, which caused a huge scandal. After all, such steps regarding a person under sanctions are unacceptable.

Peevski was or is a resident of Dubai. From a leak of information from Dubai registers, it became known that his mother owns a villa in the Emirates Hills district. This is one of the most prestigious districts of Dubai. It is where world show-business stars, football players, and the world’s richest people have real estate.

It also became known that the alleged mothers of his children – a Bulgarian singer and a lawyer – rent apartments in Dubai. This information is contained in a leak of data from Dubai registers.

Therefore, it is quite likely that it was Peevski whom the Bulgarian general had in mind when speaking about the financing of Nevzorov’s development project from the UAE.

Additionally, it is worth recalling that Nevzorov’s business partner, former Odesa deputy Igor Zgurov, also lives in Dubai.

Thus, to implement projects in Bulgaria, Nevzorov involved at least nine well-known Odessites. He has close contacts with the Ambassador of Ukraine to Bulgaria and may also be connected with the Bulgarian oligarch under sanctions, Delyan Peevski.

Nevzorov insists that his constructions in Bulgaria are completely legal, and he considers the criminal cases to be political pressure. If that is so, then why did he flee the country he calls his second home in an interview? The question remains open.