Ilia Pavlov
Iliya Pavlov Naydenov (Bulgarian: Илия Павлов Найденов) (August 6, 1960 – March 7, 2003) was a Bulgarian businessman. A banker, financier, philanthropist and reputed mafia Bulgarian mafia, he was the leader and founder of the Multigroup organization and G-13. Pavlov was ranked the eighth richest man in Central and Eastern Europe by the Polish magazine Wprost in 2002. He was said to be worth $US1.5:billion. He was married to Darina Pavlova, who inherited his fortune after his murder.
Contents
- 1 Death
- 2 Sports career
- 3 See also
- 4 References
Death
Pavlov was shot outside his office with a single bullet to the heart by a sniper and died instantly. The day before his death, he had testified in the trial of the accused murderers of Andrey Lukanov, Bulgaria's first prime minister after the fall of communism who died in 1996. Pavlov had claimed that he had no conflict with Lukanov.
No one has been charged in Pavlov's murder and while several possible theories have been put forth the motive is unknown. A previous attempt on Pavlov's life was made in 1997 when a bomb destroyed his car. He was not in it at the time.
In 2010 Pavlov's sister, Slavka Naydenova, and her 8-year-old son were murdered in Dale City, Virginia. A Russian-American woman who was the wife of Naydenova's ex-husband pleaded guilty to the murders. The motive was jealousy.
Sports career
Pavlov was a former Bulgarian wrestling champion who graduated from the National Sports Academy in Sofia.
See also
- List of Bulgarians
- List of unsolved murders
- Bulgarian mafia