Nikolai Drakopolov, who was shot dead, was a member of an international police organization led by a Serbian lawmaker.

Nikolay Drakopololov, who was shot dead on Tuesday evening in Sofia, was a member of the International Police Organization (IPO), which was founded by Serbian MP Ilija Živojić, a member of the Serbian Patriotic Union (SPAS). Drakopolov’s membership data is found in Google’s cache because his membership profile has been deleted.

IPO is a non-governmental organisation founded by Žvijić that has no formal relationship with law enforcement agencies, although it is mainly affiliated with former police and service officials.

Having worked in the police structures is not a prerequisite for membership in the IPO. It is enough for the candidate to be over 20 years old, to have extensive professional experience and to have a clean criminal record. The headquarters of the organization is in Milan and from the site and we learn that it is mainly engaged in conducting trainings, preparing analyzes and links between law enforcement agencies and civil society.

“Personnel error”

The BRRD contacted the Bulgarian representative of IPO Nikolay Kerapov, who confirmed that Drakopolov was a member of the organization until four months ago, but his membership was terminated because he did not fill out the new forms for updating his personal information. They required much more data on the applicant’s background and professional experience. Kerapov said he did not know Drakopolov personally and described the situation with his membership as a “serious personnel mistake.” After the murder of Drakopolov, BTA sources informed that he had more than 20 criminal records, which is contrary to the principles of IPO announced on the organization’s website.

However, Drakopolov’s membership certificate says that it was issued in March 2021 and is valid until March 2022. According to the information in Google’s cache, the page with the information about Drakopolov’s membership in the IPO was last online on March 12, 2021.

The public archive of web pages archive.org has retained information about Drakopolov’s membership since September 2020, and then his membership card was valid until March 2021. This indicates that Drakopolov still managed to renew his membership, but for some reason after mid-March he was dismissed as an “officer” by the IPO.

Autodzhambaz links

It was also reported that Drakoppolov had a car dealership in Sofia called “Tony Auto” or “Antonio Auto”, with which he has no formal connection. There is no information in the Commercial Register that a person with such a name has owned companies or has been a manager. Two companies with the subject of activity related to the automotive business are registered in the name of Diana Drakopolova, one of them “Performance Auto” was transferred to a straw man because of debts. The NRA has sent 32 messages to this company, registered in Pernik.

Drakoppolov himself also had unsettled credit relations with another person, for which a distraint was imposed on the only home in his name in Lovech.

From the company “Antonio Auto” come out interesting connections, but not to Drakopolov. The former owners of the company Boyan Latinov and Martin Alampioski are related to a rent-a-car company of Martin Georgiev – Jito. He is the son of Mila Georgieva from the group of “The Killers”. Through Alampioski, a formal connection can also be made with Stoimen Vharatov’s auto companies – Markia.

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