Oleg Nevzorov, after being expelled, appeared as the main protected witness in my case. This was said in the program “This Sunday“ by the mayor of Varna Blagomir Kotsev.
“Between February and July last year was the period in which I insisted very strongly that orders be issued for the Baba Alino area. You know how far I got in July. The investor in this complex - Oleg Nevzorov, after my arrest on July 8, 2025, appeared, without me knowing him, as the main protected witness in my case“, commented Kotsev.
According to him, Nevzorov was expelled from the country a few days before his arrest, returned a few days after it and then appeared as a witness.
“After I was arrested, construction in Baba Alino has intensified on a huge scale - from 15 houses at the beginning of 2025 to 104 houses in 2026. It is clear that there is a huge rush here after my removal from the Varna Municipality“, commented Kotsev.
He explained that on Friday 12 orders were issued for the demolition of illegal buildings in Baba Alino. “We will continue with approximately the same number of more“.
“In order to reach the physical demolition, we must go through all the procedures and legal options that will probably be used by the owners to protect their rights in court. The law gives the right to defense. Even the illegal builder can appeal them“, Kotsev pointed out.
“We did everything possible to issue them as quickly as possible. We will continue to issue them every following week. This is a process related to the delivery of documents and the deadlines under the Spatial Planning Act, but we cannot say when the physical demolition will take place, because this will depend on the court cases“, he commented.
According to him, it could take years if the court proceedings are delayed and expert opinions are ordered. “There probably will be some, so it is difficult to say how long it will take“.
“As for the work of the institutions, and in particular the Municipality of Varna, we will issue the demolition orders as quickly as possible, of course, in compliance with the law“, he pointed out.
According to him, things look very different when viewed in the context of the years. “The moment we found out about this problem, we immediately started acting and issuing the relevant orders - first to stop the illegal construction, and subsequently for the demolition, which is happening now“.
“This narrative “why now and not earlier“ raises many other questions. The most important one is when exactly this should have happened. I would like to ask my political opponents when they think these orders should have been issued“, Kotsev pointed out.
According to him, the complex is currently half-stopped. “There are about 40-50 houses that have been stopped at the first or second slab stage. That is, for half of the complex, the illegality was established almost at the very beginning. For the other half, construction developed gradually, but accelerated sharply in the second half of 2025“.
“Here comes the big reproaches to me. However, the big problem arises in 2023, when the tolerance orders were issued. We must continue to focus on how exactly it happened, because it is these certificates that provide the basis and opportunity for the development of such illegal construction“, believes Kotsev.
He explained that they were issued by a regional mayor in May, June and July 2023. “I become mayor in November 2023“.
“The photos clearly show that as early as October 2023, construction was already a fact - there were houses built, and others were at the foundation stage, with poured concrete and reinforcement“, said Kotsev.
He shared that he can report mistakes by all institutions.“There are dozens of institutions that were involved or held responsible in one way or another. I can assume that there may have been a delay in the municipality's construction control as well“.
“We must not forget that Varna Municipality officially learned about this illegal construction in January 2025, when a joint inspection was carried out between the RDNSK, Varna Municipality and the “Primorski“ district. Up to now, only the “Primorski“ district has been working on the case.
“In February, I requested that the file be transferred to the large municipality in order to have a personal view of the control“, shared Kotsev.
He said that he personally learned about the construction in January 2025. “Then I saw that the “Primorski“ district had been working on the file for about half a year, without any orders for suspension and demolition. It should be investigated whether someone intentionally delayed the process, I don't rule anything out“.
“Both the RDNSK and the “Primorski“ region participated in inspections. Later, the Municipality of Varna also joined in. At that time, 15 illegal buildings were identified according to the available protocols. Large-scale construction is developing mainly in the second half of 2025“, commented Kotsev.