Pandora: Mondeshki tried to trick the NRA through a family offshore

Emanation of the odious model in the administration of justice and a key factor in the so-called. A backstage that took over the country. This is how the already legendary figure of Momchil Mondeshki, a confidant of Delyan Peevski, can be defined. He is a lawyer, but he has not appeared in cases in this capacity, but as a defendant and convicted of possession and document fraud. Mladen Petkov Mondeshki – a municipal councilor from the MRF in Troyan and a former parliamentary assistant to MP Jeyhan Ibryamov (MRF again) and Petko Minkov Mondeshki are highlighted as proud owners of offshore companies on the Pandora list. They are the brother and father of Momchil Petkov Mondeshki.

Momchil Mondeshki became known to the general public because of the “Yaneva Gate” recordings, in which he discussed with judges Vladimira Yaneva and Rumyana Chenalova schemes for influence in power and pointed out his closeness to Peevski. But in the last 6-7 years, it is easier to list the scandals in which Mondeshki has not become involved than those in which he has participated. From the Belvedere case[2], through #ЯневаГейт[3], the bankruptcy of CCB[4], the attempt of his family to appropriate the history and brand of “Elprom” – Troyan[5], and to this day in his partnership with lobbyist Anthony Podesta, he “reaps” success after success.

Two convictions were handed down against Mondeshki. Capital writes that one is a three-year conditional, it is from 2006, for possession in particularly large amounts. The earlier one was for document fraud, which was imposed on him after an agreement with the prosecutor’s office in 2005, probably for the duration of his time in custody. Witnesses say that while he was detained, Mondeshki became an informant of the services. He was named as a witness of the state prosecution against the former military officer Yordan Kolev, who was charged but also acquitted of the murder of the pharmacist Hristomira Atanasova. After all, it is not clear whether the Trojan testified before the court or not, but according to people familiar with the matter, Mondeshki still feels frantic horror of Kolev.

The fact that Mondeshki has been convicted and has a biography of a fraudster does not prevent him from becoming one of Delyan Peevski’s most trusted people, becoming his “Trojan horse” and a key mediator for influence in court.

At the very beginning of 2022, the name of Momchil Mondeshki resurfaces in scandal. As revealed by a BIRD.BG investigation, on November 8, 2021, Mondeshki founded the company with the famous and even scandalous American lobbyist Anthony Podesta. The legal entity is named “Podesta and Mondeshki” Ltd. and has a capital of BGN 1,000. The main subject of the new company is consulting services in the field of business and management[6].

Podesta traveled to Bulgaria several times to lobby for several well-dressed Bulgarian businessmen who, however, had a mildly controversial reputation. For the gentlemen in question, there are objective facts and claims that they gravitate in the “orbit” of Delyan Peevski and/or Christoforos Amanatidis-Taki. In fact, the latter two are currently assumed to be related entities. In the last 2-3 years of the third (last for now) term of GERB, more and more sources from the underground claim that Amanatidis actively serves Peevski’s interests.

The reason for this lobbying activity is that well-dressed businessmen, potential customers of Podesta and Mondeshki, are collectively threatened with sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act. Obviously, Mondeshki should represent the interests of Peevski and his circle in the partnership with Podesta. In any case, the decision of the American lobbyist to take over the “service” of the people around Peevski, already sanctioned under Magnitsky for significant corruption, seems extremely disturbing.

After Podesta’s illumination, as a lobbyist of the circle around Peevski, the editor-in-chief of BIRD.BG Atanas Tchobanov was informed by the US Embassy in Bulgaria that he was the target of an imminent threat of physical violence.

Where did your money come from? From Grandpa! Who gave it to him? Brother’s offshore!

In 2014, Momchil Mondeshi was sanctioned by an effective decision of the Supreme Administrative Court for unpaid taxes to the NRA, which issued him an audit act. Then he submitted a very dubious claim to the SCC. In it, he claimed that in 2006 his grandfather received “temporary financial assistance” of 900 thousand. registered in Seychelles Exim Revale Corporation. A year later, the grandfather, who apparently had serious expertise in commercial law, was assigning his duty to his grandchildren. To each of the two – Mladen and Momchil transferred fraternally the obligation of 880 thousand. Lv. So the brothers turned into debtors to the offshore. But instead of repaying the legal entity, the two waited for the obligation to be time-barred.

In his statement of claim, Mondeshki wants the court to admit that the debt is time-barred. Initially, the request was for the full amount, but after Judge Ivanka Mollova required him to pay a state fee of 70 thousand. Mondeshki modestly reduces his claim of 880 thousand. Lv. At $180,000. Lv.

The Sofia City Court sent the statement of claim to Exim Revale Corporation for a response. A curious fact is that the offshore company is represented by the Lovech lawyer – Matey Matev. Coincidentally or not, when Mondeshki’s accountant – Kristi Marinova became trustee in bankruptcy of the bankrupt CCB, lawyer Matev was engaged by the trustees of CCB and led over 25 cases of the bank against its creditors. This fact did not prevent Maya Manolova from raising his wife for a member of the CEC from the quota of “Stand up! Thugs out”, and its coalition partners slept through this fact.

Capital says that Matey Matev and his wife appeared in the bankruptcy case of the company “Diana-67” in 2011, which received a request from the Panamanian offshore “EBOS Trading Limited” to be joined as a creditor under a contract for 15.7m euros. Lv. The request in question was not accepted. And here there is a connection with Mondeshki. Before joining the bankruptcy case, “EBOS Trading Limited” filed a claim in the Lovech District Court against Momchil Mondeshki because the company had rented the first floor of a building used by him in the village of Oreshak, against which a state bailiff from the region had initiated proceedings. The reason of the company is that in these premises there are its documents. The claim was dismissed, but the documentary trail remained. And this case resembles a simulated process by which to stop the actions of the bailiff against the property.

Judge Mollova is removed from the case of Mondeshki against “Exim Revale Corporation. This may have happened under pressure. Petya Georgieva, who was seconded from Velingrad, enters the process as an arbitrator. She respected Mondeshki’s claim, and the decision was not appealed by the offshore company. The lawyer delivered the tax ruling as proof that the source of his income was this exotic loan from Exim Reveil Corporation to his grandfather.

However, BRRD has documents that the ultimate owner of “Exim Revale Corporation” is Mladen Petkov Mondeshki and he has been so since 2005. How the young 20-year-old Mladen became the owner of 900,000 euros is a real mystery. Our attempts to contact Mladen Mondeshki for comment on the phone were not successful. At the same time, his brother was a freshly convicted criminal and his situation was not rosy either. With a high degree of probability, we can say that such a loan has never existed and that it is a brazen attempt to trick the taxpayers who have smelled Mondeshki’s undeclared income.

This whole story actually bears all the hallmarks of an attempt at money laundering. Unsuccessful money laundering because the NRA does not accept the SCC decision. However, we will focus on the hypothesis of tax crimes committed by Momchil Mondeshki in the next text.

And more tricks through family offshores…

Exim Revale Corporation isn’t the only “family” offshore company popping out of the covers of lawsuits. Such is Kinsella Plaza Limited, which in the Pandora Files is listed as the ultimate property of Petko Minkov Mondeshki. A check in the Trade Register makes it clear that the offshore is somehow constituted as a creditor in the bankruptcy proceedings of the company “Sofia Real Estates Management[11]“. For this fact we find in the “covers” of commercial case 5214 from 2011. The proceedings drag on for 4-5 years, several judges and trustees are changed. The bankruptcy proceedings were opened at the request of 23. 11. 2011 of the debtor company itself “Sofia Real Estates Management”.

Thereafter, a petition for the opening of bankruptcy proceedings was also filed by the British Virgin Islands company Todela Limited[12]“. For the offshore company in question, we find no data in Pandora. The Commercial Register shows that Todela Limited was the owner of the company “Dzhitrade”. In 2005 the company was established at the address of Vasil Yordanov Vasilev[13] in Lovech. The latter is related to the Ganchevi family through Lovech Sport 96[14]. As Director of “Todela Limited” the founding act was signed by Kamelia Georgieva Mircheva[15], which is also related to Ganchevi. She is a former Executive Director of Litex Commerce AD and a member of the supervisory board of the company.

In 2011, the ownership of “Gitrade” was transferred from “Todela Limited” to Litex Commerce[16] In March 2014, the company was dissolved and deleted.

In the course of the insolvency proceedings of Sofia Real Estates Management Kamelia Georgieva confirmed to the court that with the debtor company – Sofia Real Estates Management[17]‘ have a consultancy contract for EUR 24 million. According to her, the receivable was due and payable as early as March 30, 2006. In turn, Eurobank EFG Bulgaria AD (Postbank), which is the other major creditor, logically also joins the insolvency proceedings of Sofia Real Estates Management with over EUR 7 million. The money was lent to the company under a credit agreement.

Before the court for the defendant “Sofia Real Estates Management” appeared the two co-managers of the company, who gave diametrically opposed testimony. One is Milko Talev, the other Nikolay Lekov. Talev is known for being the grandson of the writer Dimitar Talev and for being detained together with Grisha Ganchev’s son in the “Sugar Affair” in 2012. Among the detainees is the director of “Todela Limited” Kamelia Mircheva[18]. At this stage, after the second instance, Talev is the only person convicted – with a suspended sentence[19].

The manager Milko Talev[20] does not dispute the claim of “Todela Limited” and claims that the company was insolvent as early as March 2006.[21] He claims that the contract with Todela Limited is invalid and the insolvency has occurred due to the impossibility to repay the loan to Postbank. These actions show an attempt to limit or even eliminate the rights of Eurobank EFG Bulgaria as a creditor. At that time, the Commerce Act still made it possible to declare the bankruptcy of a company retroactively.

Nikolay Lekov told bird.bg that he was surprised by Talev’s actions and found out about the consulting contract with Todela Limited in the course of the court proceedings. According to him, his partner tried to steal a building that was then under construction in the capital’s Iztok district. Judge Miroslava Katsarska, however, did not accept Talev’s thesis and declared Sofia Real Estates Management insolvent from the date, which was specified by the creditor Eurobank EFG Bulgaria. This is how the actual insolvency proceedings begin.

In the course of the judicial phase, several trustees and judges are replaced. Accepted by one of the official trustees is also the taking of “Kinsella Plaza Lilmitid” – the offshore of Petko Minkov Mondeshki. There is no documentary evidence of how this company entered the proceedings, but Nikolay Lekov suggests that Kinsella Plaza Lilmitid bought the receivables claimed by Todela Limited. According to the businessman, there was an acquaintance between Mladen Mondeshki and Milko Talev and the appearance of the Stara Zagora lawyer did not surprise him. Postbank objected to the acceptance of this claim, claimed by Kinsella Plaza Lilmitid, but clearly unsuccessful.

Our team has documentary evidence that in the bankruptcy of Sofia Real Estates Management Kinsella Plaza Lilmitid is represented by a lawyer A. Stankov. A check of the bird.bg confirmed that this is Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha’s Justice Minister Anton Stankov[22]. Subsequently, he represented Momchil Mondeshki before the Disciplinary Court of the Supreme Bar Council. Mondesh-related media pour praise for him[23]. Stankov confirmed that at some point he had represented Kinsella Plaza Lilmitid in this case, but did not remember who authorized him. He had entered by substitution, as a favor to a colleague, and did not even remember to have taken a fee. Asked if there was clarity about a connection between the offshore company and the Mondeshki family, Stankov said he had defended Momchil Mondeshki, but did not know there was a connection between him and Kinsella Plaza Limited. Anyway, lawyer Stankov, in his capacity as a representative of a creditor with over 50% of the claims of the creditors of Sofia Real Estates Management, wants a change of the trustee.

Judge Rumyana Chenalova satisfies Stankov’s wish and replaces Alexander Georgiev Kostadinov[24] with Daniela Sergeeva Kutseva. Today Kostadinov’s name comes out in connection with the Corpbank AD affair[25]Kutseva is now just a lawyer. She signaled that Vladimira Yaneva had put pressure on her in favor of Peevski in the bankruptcy of Corpbank AD in the course of Corpbank’s insolvency.[26]. Kutseva commented that the insolvency of Sofia Real Estates Management was problematic, then corrected that it was actually not problematic, but specific, because there is a creditor – a bank. Alexander Kostadinov said that he was a trustee in bankruptcy for several months, but there was no money in the company.

With a subsequent application to the court and again after the ruling of Judge Chenalova, Eurobank EFG Bulgaria AD managed to return, as trustee in bankruptcy Alexander Georgiev Kostadinov, but he came out of bankruptcy at will. Kinsella Plaza Lilmitid and Eurobank EFG Bulgaria are fighting for any trustee, and the latter cashes the bankruptcy estate. Nikolay Lekov said that Mondeshki probably relied on his connections with Yaneva and Chenalova, but with their removal from the judiciary his chances of influencing the bankruptcy sharply decreased. Thus, the appetizing building in the Iztok neighborhood came into the possession of the bank, which successfully put it up for auction.

Petko Mondeshki comes out as the ultimate owner of three more offshore companies – Glassine Ltd, Gaufferd Management Inc. and Plarny Commerce Inc. For them, our team does not find data in the Trade Register or court archives for economic activity in Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian politicians in the Pandora Files revealed so far are
Delyan Peevski
and
Nickolay Mladenov
and
Nikolay Barekov
, and Arben Havalyov. In addition, the files include large financiers, lawyers, individuals associated with multimillion-dollar fraudulent schemes, but also entrepreneurs with regular business, with no visible political protections, who have registered offshore companies and have announced them to the Bulgarian authorities.

The investigation of the BIRD.BG also revealed the secret offshore companies of the owners of First Investment Bank
Tseko Minev and Ivaylo Mutafchiev
, who over the years have received loans worth over a billion levs from their own bank. Their offshore companies have also been used in schemes for racketeering the business with final beneficiary Delyan Peevski.

The Pandora Files contains data from 14 offshore registration and maintenance companies whose files have been leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). To study this array of nearly 12 million documents, the consortium brought together 600 journalists from around the world for a global investigation called the Pandora-Files. BIRD.BG is the Bulgarian partner in this investigation, which is the largest coordinated cooperation of investigative journalists to date.

Follows….

[1] https://www.24chasa.bg/Article/187819

[2] https://www.mediapool.bg/frenskata-firma-belvedere-poiska-spravedlivost-ot-dyado-koleda-news228362.html

[3] https://bivol.bg/?s=%D1%8F%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%82

[4] https://bivol.bg/badapples-talking-s4-1.html

[5] https://www.investor.bg/ikonomika-i-politika/332/a/kzk-sankcionira-elprom-troian-za-neloialna-konkurenciia-273478/

[6] https://bird.bg/podesta-lobbying-peevski/

[7]https://bird.bg/tr/?v=view&guid=17961415D7DA289BC8B3F95A153B7061226CCB03AF845174D2DBAC217F9DD197&p2=1

[8] https://bird.bg/tr/?v=view&guid=202703070

[9] http://www.tpp2.com/files/18052_Reshenie_klasirane.pdf

[10] https://bird.bg/contracts/?q=202703070

[11] https://bird.bg/tr/?v=view&guid=114562534

[12] https://bird.bg/tr/?v=view&guid=bird_e76832918eb3a6510f1136f957aa682377f28b5b744389dfaad82e387d419ccd

[13] https://bird.bg/tr/?v=view&guid=5945488AD341F7F0351C53C28CC56ADAAB37E49E4FCCEA162ED782205213AB1F

[14] https://bird.bg/tr/?v=view&guid=110014316

[15] https://bird.bg/tr/?v=view&guid=CB9BD795BB0FA2B8DD5DD8FDB212A4D24FBD5D174CA24CF265F1D33E4D1D5977

[16] https://bird.bg/tr/?v=view&guid=000288549

[17] https://bird.bg/tr/?v=view&guid=114562534

[18] https://www.24chasa.bg/Article/1372190

[19] https://fakti.bg/bulgaria/648737-opravdaha-grisha-ganchev-i-na-vtora-instancia-za-zaharnata-afera

[20]https://bird.bg/tr/?v=view&guid=03026474B981603292A325313141D23C19A700DB56C6E950A4CFB35604B599B4&p2=1

[21] https://bird.bg/tr/?v=view&guid=2CC2D70C1047780EB809692247EC9D47CF3A16B7474B969FDF82270C9F12E4C2

[22] https://troyanpress.com/%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%83%D1%87%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B0-%D0%B7%D0%B0-%D1%86%D1%8F%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5/

[23] https://troyanpress.com/%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%83%D1%87%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B0-%D0%B7%D0%B0-%D1%86%D1%8F%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5/

[24]https://ispn.mjs.bg/mj/ispn.nsf/indexPublic.xsp?documentId=0B633873DC233BCCC2257A4D002FF9F8&action=openDocument&page=ftrustee

[25] http://www.ktbfiles.com/ktb-top100/kik-dizajn-ood/

[26] https://defakto.bg/2016/02/23/%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%B2%D1%88%D0%B8%D1%8F%D1%82-%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BA-%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B0-%D0%BA%D1%83%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B0-%D0%B4%D0%BE-%D0%B5%D0%BA-%D1%8F%D0%BD/

***

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