One of his business partners, Kamen Vlahov, doubled as a member of Parliament and helped push through legislation that helped him become the only private bookmaking operation in the country.

He also benefited from strong political connections. Mihalev told a special session of Parliament - ringed with security inside and out because of death threats - that he would be killed if he came back to live in his homeland, but never said whom he was afraid of.īozhkov was never named as a suspect, and with his rivals gone, his business flourished. Pavlov was killed by an assassin’s bullet in 2004, and Mihalev went into hiding. The partnership dissolved in a bitter feud and Pavlov went on to found Multigrup, a powerful rival.

Founded with two partners, Ilia Pavlov and Mladen, it become one of the most powerful and profitable owners of casinos and bet shops in Eastern Europe. The head of a dozen casinos in Bulgaria and the majority shareholder of the country’s only private bookmaking shop, these days Bozhkov spends most of his time running a private conglomerate and the country’s largest construction company.īut his climb to the top of Bulgaria’s wealthiest, with a fortune several business magazines place at more than $1 billion, began 16 years ago with the IGM gambling group.

Online casino owner cyprus