Barely two weeks ago, Alexey Petrov, a former state security agent for Bulgaria, was assassinated while walking in Sofia in the presence of bodyguards.

Petrov, who reportedly survived at least two previous attempts on his life, died at the scene, while a woman who was with him was wounded and admitted to hospital.

The shooting occurred on 16 August 2023, barely three months after Krasimir Kamenov, his wife Gergana and two other Bulgarians believed to be their employees were murdered in the upmarket Cape Town suburb of Constantia on 25 May.

Like Petrov, the four were shot.

No arrests have been made for Petrov’s killing in Bulgaria or for the four assassinations in South Africa.

And Petrov’s murder has now brought up more questions about Kamenov, whose assassination opened a Pandora’s box of political claims.

Politics and crime

Among those making accusations in this arena is Bulgaria’s former chief prosecutor, Ivan Geshev.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Gangsters in government: State Capture parallels between South African and Bulgarian criminals

Three days after Petrov’s murder, Geshev took to Facebook, questioning whether that assassination was linked to Kamenov’s and others.

Geshev posted that during a press conference in March 2023, when he was still Bulgaria’s chief prosecutor, he revealed an alleged State Capture-style plot to have him removed from office, which he accused Kamenov of driving.

Kamenov, at that point, was in South Africa (and had been since about 2008).

Read more in Daily Maverick: From SA to Romania – ‘Evidence’ of global crooks crafting a US-based plot to topple Bulgaria’s law enforcers

In his Facebook post, Geshev also referred to an incident on 1 May 2023 – an explosive device detonated along a road near Sofia as his convoy drove by.

Geshev, who was not hurt, alleged the blast was an attempt on his life.

However, some of his detractors believed the bomb attack was staged to distract from Geshev’s poor performance as prosecuting boss.

‘Dodgy offer’

In his Facebook post on 19 August, Geshev also claimed that about two weeks after the bomb incident, which would have been mid-May, Petrov approached him and presented him with an “unprincipled offer” that Geshev accept an ambassador post, which Geshev did not.

“At the end of May, the shooting of [Kamenov] followed. Wasn’t he killed because he assisted a famous Euro-Atlantic service?” Geshev asked in his post, perhaps implying that Kamenov had helped an intelligence service.

Krasimir Kamenov was one of four people murdered in Constantia on 25 May 2023. He was wanted by Bulgarian authorities. (Photo: Interpol website)

Daily Maverick previously reported that Kamenov may have had information about Ruja Ignatova, of Bulgaria, who is among the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s top 10 wanted suspects.

He may have planned to provide, or had been providing, information about her to the US.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Constantia killings and FBI-wanted ‘Cryptoqueen’ Ruja Ignatova’s intriguing SA links

Ignatova allegedly headed a global crypto scam that operated under various names, including OneCoin and OneLife.

Coincidence or coordinated plot?

As for Geshev, he was dismissed as Bulgaria’s chief prosecutor on 15 June 2023.

In his Facebook post this month, referring to what happened to Kamenov and Petrov, as well as other assassinations, he said: “A string of coincidence or a large-scale plan? I am sure that Europol and the partner services assisting my assassination investigation will provide answers to these questions. 

“As well as [about] other serious crimes committed in our country in recent months that our law enforcement agencies do not deal with or rather do not want to deal with.”

Ongoing investigations

As of this week, no arrests were reported to have been made for Petrov’s assassination.

Interior Minister: No Suspect for #Murder of Alexey Petrov So Farhttps://t.co/bj9ztKbuig

— Bulgarian News Agency (@BTAnewsENG) August 23, 2023

There were also no detained suspects in the Kamenov killing case.

Western Cape police spokesperson Captain Frederick van Wyk told Daily Maverick on Tuesday, 29 August that the matter was still under investigation.

“No arrests [have] been made,” he said. “The investigation continues.”

Ruja Ignatova is one of the FBI’s top 10 wanted suspects. She allegedly ran a billion-dollar crypto scam that was based in Bulgaria but operated globally. (Photo: FBI website. Sharpened with AI)

Wanted for murder

Daily Maverick previously reported that the embassy of Bulgaria said it had told South African authorities that Kamenov was in this country and that he faced arrest – 49 days before his assassination.

An Interpol Red Notice – an international request for authorities to arrest a listed figure – said Kamenov was wanted by Bulgaria in connection with a murder threat, murder and extortion.

He was accused of being involved in the killing of a former policeman, Lyubomir Ivanov, who was fatally shot in Sofia in March 2022.

Some news reports from Bulgaria alleged that Ivanov had dubious links to the illicit cigarette trade.

‘Leading martial arts personality’

In the case of Petrov, he had a deep political history linked to Bulgaria.

He was also involved in martial arts, and two days after his murder the World Karate Federation posted a short tribute to him.

“Considered one of the leading personalities in martial arts in Bulgaria and one of the founders of organised karate in the country, Mr Petrov headed the National Federation of Bulgaria for the past two decades,” it said.

“A 6-dan Black Belt in Karate, Petrov was a multiple-time national champion and acted as a national coach before leading the Bulgarian Federation. He also served as the president of the Balkan Karate Federation from 2013 to 2015.

“The WKF and the global Karate Family extend their deepest condolences to Mr Petrov’s family and loved ones and the whole Bulgarian Karate community during this difficult time.”

Crime scene experts process a multiple murder scene involving four foreigners in Constantia on 25 May 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

State security, court, companies

An Associated Press article provided further details about his background.

It reported: “A karate champion and former state security agent, Petrov left his job in the police after the fall of communism to start a private business. It boomed, and he became an associate in over 50 companies by 2002.

“In 2010, he was arrested and charged with running a criminal group engaged in extortion, racketeering, drug trafficking, money laundering, and tax evasion.” (These charges are also prevalent in organised crime in South Africa.)

The report said he was released on bail, later acquitted and he went on to run as a candidate in a presidential election.

“In recent years, Petrov ran one of the biggest insurance companies in the country. He also served as an adviser to the head of the State Agency for National Security, and for some time was also a university lecturer in economics,” it said. DM