Todor Batkov The Dark Side
Todor Batkov :
(Bulgarian: Тодор Батков) (born 17 October 1958 in Smolyan) is president of the Bulgarian football club Levski (Sofia).
Since June 1991, Batkov has been a managing partner of the “Batkov,
Stoev, Botev and Co.” Lawyer’s House. He is a member of the College of
Barristers, the International Lawyer’s League and the Supervising
Council of MobilTel Ltd. Batkov is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Standard News Ltd – publisher of the “Standart” Newspaper.
Batkov is generally infamous within Levski Sofia fans, who believe
that he does not have the club's best interests at heart, but some
Levski factions like Sofia West tend to be supportive of him. On 30
March 2006, Batkov caused controversy when in the post-match interview
following Levski Sofia's 1:3 home defeat against German side FC Schalke 04, he summed up English referee Mike Riley's performance as follows: "This British homosexual broke the game!" (Bulgarian: "Този британски педераст развали мача!"), referring to what he perceived as Riley's controversial dismissal of Levski Sofia midfielder Cédric Bardon for a second yellow card in the 35th minute of the game.[1] Batkov was subsequently fined 5000 Swiss franks and banned from attending the next 2 Levski games in any UEFA tournaments.[2]
But, the missing truth is the reality, which arises some questions?
Who is Michael Chorney?
What is the relation of Todor Batkov and Michael Chorney?
How a Lawyer becomes a billionaire?
Answers which arises more critical questions:
Todor Batkov, aka “Borat,” a Bulgarian lawyer and businessman, serves as a proxy and front-man for businesses and interests of the infamous Russian-Israeli businessman, Michael Cherney, aka “Mikhail Chorny.” The Bulgarian government labeled Chorny a national security threat, banning him from entering Bulgaria in 2000. Chorny maintains influence over his companies – including Levski football team, Standart Newspaper, and Bankya Palace Hotel – by transferring ownership to Batkov. Batkov has solid political connections – in 2008 Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov awarded him the Stara Planina Order, the government’s highest honor, for his activities in promoting Bulgarian culture, arts, and sports. Batkov donates heavily to charitable organizations for seriously ill children, orphans, the Pirogov Emergency room, and local universities. He also contributed one million leva to the “You Are Not Alone” campaign in 2007 to help free the Bulgarian medics once held in Libyan prison and gave 11 cars to the Ministry of Interior. Batkov is still on the board of the Bulgarian mobile phone company, MTel, and is managing director of Batkov, Stoev, Botev, and Associates law firm. He was a close associate of the late controversial Bulgarian banker and former Parvanov advisor, Emil Kuliev, who was gunned down in Sofia in 2006.
Todor Batkov is being interrogated:
The owner of the “Levski” Football Club, Todor Batkov is being interrogated by the Main Directorate for Fighting Organized Crime (GDBOP).
The news was reported Friday by Darik radio saying the interrogation is not over yet and is being held for two hours already. Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev, and the Secretary General of the Interior Ministry, Kalin Georgiev, are also said to be in the GDBOP building at this time.
The reason for the questioning remains unknown but it is presumed it relates to the so-called “Kazan Affair.”
The affair in which Batkov was tricked into believing the Russian team Rubin Kazan wanted to buy four of Levski’s stars for a total of EUR 5 B, happened in September, shortly before the club was supposed to face their all time rival, FC CSKA Sofia. Without the four players Zhivko Milanov, Ze Soares, Darko Tasevski, and Usef Rabeh, who were traveling to Moscow at the time of the derby, Levski lost to CSKA 0:2.
After the scandal broke, Batkov told Bulgarian media that he received threatening phone calls from Russia asking him to stop digging in the story. He later accused the management of the CSKA FC of masterminding the entire scheme.
The prosecutors have started an investigation for a document crime since Levski’s owner received a fake fax expressing interest in the transfers of the four players, and in order to start the transfer procedure Batkov deposited EUR 200 000.
The news was reported Friday by Darik radio saying the interrogation is not over yet and is being held for two hours already. Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev, and the Secretary General of the Interior Ministry, Kalin Georgiev, are also said to be in the GDBOP building at this time.
The reason for the questioning remains unknown but it is presumed it relates to the so-called “Kazan Affair.”
The affair in which Batkov was tricked into believing the Russian team Rubin Kazan wanted to buy four of Levski’s stars for a total of EUR 5 B, happened in September, shortly before the club was supposed to face their all time rival, FC CSKA Sofia. Without the four players Zhivko Milanov, Ze Soares, Darko Tasevski, and Usef Rabeh, who were traveling to Moscow at the time of the derby, Levski lost to CSKA 0:2.
After the scandal broke, Batkov told Bulgarian media that he received threatening phone calls from Russia asking him to stop digging in the story. He later accused the management of the CSKA FC of masterminding the entire scheme.
The prosecutors have started an investigation for a document crime since Levski’s owner received a fake fax expressing interest in the transfers of the four players, and in order to start the transfer procedure Batkov deposited EUR 200 000.
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