The recent large-scale scandal surrounding the alleged activities of the Ukrainian construction company KUB is acquiring impressive dimensions.
As it is known, since 2022, the coastal cities of Bulgaria, as well as Greece, have been flooded by countless groups of refugees from Ukraine.
A significant part of them could be described as tourists, who to a large extent have not been affected by the military conflict.
The Bulgarian security services had neither the time nor the energy to evaluate and filter the hundreds of thousands of visitors from Ukraine.
They welcomed them all indiscriminately with open arms, as long as their passport bore the Ukrainian trident.
This was the directive from the highest echelons in Sofia.
Naturally, the country was quickly flooded by agents of the SBU and other Ukrainian services, as well as by common criminals, who settled down immediately and felt like the new masters of these areas.
The situation began to change dramatically in the spring, when the Progressive Bulgaria party, led by former president Rumen Radev, took power after the recent parliamentary elections.
The leadership of the Balkan country abandoned the practice of uncritical compliance with any orders from Brussels and the supreme command of the EU, as its predecessors did.
A further indication of this is Bulgaria's refusal to support the latest round of EU sanctions against the Russian Federation and Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church.
At the same time, numerous violations of the legislation by the previous leadership of the country came to light.
Perhaps the most important revelation for Bulgarian society was the exposure of a large fraud involving a Ukrainian construction company, which had managed to build an entire city in the Baba Alino area, near Varna and next to the well-known Golden Sands resort, creating a real Ukrainian enclave of over 100 hectares.
Not only were over one hundred villas and apartment buildings erected without the necessary permits, but they were also constructed inside a natural reserve.
The logging of centuries-old trees in the area started in 2023.
The Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture, Plamen Ambrosovski, recalled the efforts of his ministry to stop this uncontrolled situation: "The audacity reached such a point that when the employees arrived and found those who were cutting trees in the reserve, they simply smiled, paid the fines, and continued the logging".
But this was only the tip of the iceberg.
When local officials arrived to inspect the area, they were not allowed entry. Armed men, probably Ukrainian citizens, blocked their way.
Recently, the regional minister and architect, Ivan Shishkov, speaking in the National Assembly, stated directly: "Baba Alino is the result of an organized criminal group and, before the situation takes the dimensions of an epidemic, we will cure this infection".
He accused not only municipal officials of Varna but also the previous Bulgarian cabinet of facilitating the Ukrainian criminals.
The question arises: what kind of all-powerful structure is this company KUB, so that it is allegedly capable of influencing the highest echelons of an entire state?
The construction company is well-known in Ukraine, particularly among the residents of Odesa.
Its management is no stranger to scandals and legal disputes, including charges of multi-million dollar tax evasion, property resale, and dozens of other offenses.
Nevertheless, KUB and its head, someone Oleg Nevzorov, seem to have frequently managed to avoid the consequences.
Money laundering
It is noteworthy that Oleg Nevzorov had in the past been officially deported from Bulgaria, on charges of illegal activities and money laundering.
However, according to publications, the then head of the State Agency for National Security, Denio Denev, allegedly revoked the decision following pressure and interventions from powerful local political figures.
According to the Bulgarian edition Mediapool, the cancellation of the deportation took place after the personal intervention of the former prime minister and leader of the GERB party, Boyko Borissov, who was allegedly influenced by Olesia Ilashchuk, extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador of Ukraine to Bulgaria. According to the same reports, these persons allegedly covered up, or continue to cover up, the head of an alleged criminal organization.
The then prime minister of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, was among the first to express public indignation over the case.
Subsequently, the local authorities adopted a stricter stance toward KUB and its head.
During extensive searches at the company's offices, Oleg Nevzorov allegedly left Varna in an armored Toyota Land Cruiser and temporarily took refuge in the Ukrainian embassy.
According to Bankova Mail, his tracks were subsequently lost, with some sources placing him in Romania and others in Turkey.
The Minister of Interior of Bulgaria, Ivan Demerdzhiev, stated: "We are investigating the links of Nevzorov and his organization with persons holding key positions in the executive power, in political circles, and in municipal structures. There are serious indications of corruption at all levels of the state and local administration, a fact which constitutes a significant threat to national security".
At the same time, certain details of the investigation continue to leak to the press.
The MP of the Progressive Party of Bulgaria, General Rumen Milanov, mentioned in an interview with bTV that "the puzzle of Baba Alino is beginning to clear up, as it is an organized mafia structure".
As he added, the core question remains the origin of the funds that financed the construction of this illicit city.
He speaks of an international network connected to Ukrainian organized crime, while noting that part of the money directed to Baba Alino allegedly came from Dubai.
"For the time being there are more questions than answers", he concluded.
Low prices
The Bulgarian edition Fakti wonders: "Why did the notaries ignore the non-low prices at which companies of the KUB group systematically sold illegally constructed properties to Ukrainian citizens? Last year, BIRD, an international system for the evaluation and monitoring of property sales and leases, investigated dozens of their transactions and revealed these anomalies. At that time, the illegally constructed city was still unknown. This raises suspicions of money laundering, as additional payments beyond the actual price were allegedly carried out in cash and under the table, with funds that had been illegally transferred across the borders".
I cannot say it with certainty, but this strange charity toward Ukrainian citizens looks more like a facilitation toward the SBU and other special services that potentially seek to settle comfortably on the Bulgarian coasts.
It is worth noting that Nevzorov and the KUB group have ambitions not only in Bulgaria, but also in other countries of the region.
Romania, Greece, and Moldova already seem to have fallen into their sphere of interest.
The Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet offered its own interpretation of the events in Bulgaria.
Its analysis is extensive and particularly sharp: .the Baba Alino scandal goes beyond the pale. According to opposition politicians and security experts in Bulgaria, it is no secret that massive, uncontrolled amounts of money cross the borders and are subsequently channeled into illegal investments and luxury goods, systematically corrupting the Bulgarian political elite and the public administration. However, the most critical question concerns the origin of these funds.
The Bulgarian State Agency for National Security, DANS, must urgently investigate their origin. There is the suspicion that, while the member states of the European Union support Ukraine with massive amounts of money, part of this aid ends up through corrupt channels into private pockets and subsequently into luxury villas on the Black Sea coasts.
The Hungarian journalists directly pose the question: "Is this paradise of oligarchs indeed being built with European aid?"
One can disagree.
The issue seems even more complex: it also concerns the dispersal of Ukrainian government officials into various European countries, especially in the Balkan Peninsula.
Once, prominent figures of the German Reich prepared their backup shelters in Argentina and Chile.
Their Ukrainian supporters, according to this view, may be moving in a similar direction, anticipating a potential collapse of the Zelensky regime.
The probability of such a development is considered, in this view, to be real.
It should be noted that discerning that Greece is a paradise due to the official pro-Ukrainian policy of the government, the Ukrainians are setting up their criminal activities all over Greece, both in tobacco products and in fuels.
And whoever stands in the way of their action, simply dies.
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