373108 | 7 Oct. 2025 | 14:06

A separate water park with the peculiar name "Atlantis" has been discovered, which has already sunk like a continent for which there is no available building documentation," said Ivan Ivanov.

  There is evidence that the "Negresco" hotel and the "Atlantis" water park are involved in illegal construction. This was determined by the inspection of the Directorate for National and Construction Control (DNCC), regional minister Ivan Ivanov announced at a press conference.

 "The DNCC found that there is no documentation for two things. One is the correction of the riverbed and there is no documentation for it. The "Negresco" hotel is literally built on the river and was put into operation by the municipality of Nessebar. Furthermore, a water park with the unusual name "Atlantis" has been discovered, which has already sunk like a continent and has no available construction documentation," said Ivan Ivanov.

 These facilities were built by the company linked to hotelier Vetko Arabadzhiev, who is under investigation for money laundering through the company "Holiday Village". Several real estate websites now feature ads for the sale of apartments in the "Negresco" complex.

 The regional minister stated that checks will continue for these two properties, and all information will be provided to the competent investigative authorities.

 "If the investigative authorities deem it necessary, they can initiate procedures to revoke the construction permits and put an end to their use because it is their obligation according to the law, and these buildings should be declared illegal constructions," said Ivan Ivanov.

 Vetko Arabadzhiev and Nikolay Dimitrov. These two names have been mentioned repeatedly in the past few days. The link between these two men is the flooded vacation complex Elenite. Because the first one was its privatizer and owner, and the second one - mayor of Nessebar since 2007, in whose jurisdiction the complex falls. This means that the municipality, led by Dimitrov for the last almost 20 years, has allowed the construction. That which is now claimed to be the cause of the disaster.

 The Arabadzhiev family has been connected with Eleni for the last 20 years. They participated in the privatization of the complex through a workers-managerial company (RMD) and entered its management in 2002, when Valko (Vetko) Arabadzhiev and his wife Marinela officially became executive directors of the holiday village with RMD "Eleni Invest", with Arabadzhiev being the majority shareholder in the company.

 The hotels of the Arabadzhievi family in Elenite are literally built on the riverbed that flows towards the sea and were carried away by the torrent on October 3, 2025. The river is small and dries up for most of the year, but its bed leads directly to the hotels, built in the last 15-20 years. In addition, behind the first hotels, there are enormous hills of construction waste that have been filled in and overgrown.

 Along the path of the water that swept through the seaside resort on October 3, 2025, the complex "Holiday Village" is located. The owner of "Holiday Village" is an offshore company, registered in Seychelles, owned by Cypriot citizen Mikhail Kyriakos. From the company's history, it can be seen that in 2016, Volcho Arabadzhiev - son of entrepreneurs Vetko and Marinela Arabadzhievi, appeared in the management of the company. Marinela Arabadzhieva's name is intertwined with that of Mikhail Kiryakov once again in another company.

 The construction of the Holiday Village holiday resort began in 1985. The complex features numerous two-story and three-story houses, luxurious single-family bungalows and villas, surrounded by greenery, as well as hotels and apartment complexes.

 From the cadastral maps, it can be seen that the river in Elenite has disappeared, replaced by a hotel and villa complex owned by "Holiday Village" JSC.

 Everything in Elenite is built on dry riverbeds, which during heavy rains carry water from the southern slope of Emine into the sea.

 The river overflowed because Arabadzhiev built a water park, summer theater, and staff dormitories directly in its bed, according to experts' evaluations.

 "People here say you have to be naive and/or greedy to not notice that this half-dry riverbed was not always a small stream," locals say.

 It used to be 20-40 meters wide, covered with polished river rocks - a sign that the river was once full and raging.

 "Vetko Arabadzhiev dumped garbage in the forest under the eyes of the authorities and filled in three channels and the riverbed," locals say.

 Thus, the problems with water in the area become the common thread between businessman Arabadzhiev and the mayor of Nessebar, Dimitrov.

 "The issues with water in the area are not a result of the initial construction, but rather from the later approved spatial plan, which expands the building zone. The new plans include parts of the forest fund and channels, which are natural water catchment areas. The adoption of this plan has allowed for urbanization of the neighboring areas, without taking into account the watershed character of the area," experts point out.

 One of the main activities of the Arabadzievi family is construction and hospitality. They were investigated by the prosecutor's office for tax fraud and participation in an organized criminal group for money laundering between 2013 and 2018.

 Vetko and Marinel Arabadzievi were arrested in Barcelona and extradited in 2019. It was then that their son Vulcho Arabadziev, who was also detained in connection with the investigation, stepped down from the management of "Holiday Village". The case against the Arabadzievs never made it to court.

 Another name that stands out in relation to the Elena area is that of architect Kalin Tiholov. According to his official biography, he participated in the development of the regulatory and construction plan of the resort, as well as in the design and construction of the "Royal Bay" hotel.

 Kalin Tiholov is also the designer of the former summer residence of former honorary MRF leader Ahmed Dogan in Rosenets. In 2007, he was a candidate for municipal councilor for MRF, and the site "Bivol" connects him to a number of controversial constructions in the Southern Black Sea region. In 2013, Tiholov was proposed as Minister of Investment Design in the cabinet of "Oresharski" (MRF and BSP), but his nomination was withdrawn.

 A large part of the apartments in Elenite have been sold and their ultimate owners are mainly Russian citizens, according to records in public registries.