Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has refused to accept the ownership of troubled football club Levski Sofia, which was transferred to him fugitive gambling mogul Vassil Bozhkov.
Bozhkov said he is offering one of the top clubs in Bulgaria to Borissov because the prime minister was responsible for its current financial situation by causing the destruction of companies supporting it.
He made the accusation after in February Bulgaria banned private lottery games and the prosecution charged Bozhkov on seven counts, including extortion and attempted bribery. Meanwhile, he was arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has still not returned to Bulgaria.
Although Borissov rejected the gift, lawyers quoted by daily Dnevnik say he is the new owner as the procedure to transfer shares from an owner to other individual does not require the consent of the recipient. To end his ownership of the club, Borissov must transfer the shares back.
Bozhkov, dubbed Cherepa (The Skull), owns several gambling companies, one of the two most popular football clubs in the country and a significant collection of antiques and paintings. His lottery operations attracted attention earlier in January after the ruling coalition proposed legislative changes that would ban private lottery games in the country, subsequently approved by the parliament.
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