Gunmen shot and killed prominent Bulgarian businessman Alexey Petrov, 61, in the capital Sofia Wednesday, according to police reports.
A woman accompanying Petrov sustained an injury as a result of the incident, according to The Associated Press (AP). Police have reportedly not identified the gunmen and are investigating the murder.
Businessman Alexey Petrov was shot dead in Sofia’s Dragalevtsi suburb at 12:20 pm on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said.https://t.co/YqQuHe7zQs pic.twitter.com/UZPalIyDXo
— Bulgarian News Agency (@BTAnewsENG) August 16, 2023
Although killings of public figures were reportedly common in Bulgaria during the 1990s, these new acts of violence have shocked the country, The AP noted.
Petrov, a karate champion and former state security agent, worked as a police officer while Bulgaria was still communist, per The AP. He then started a private business and was exceptionally successful as a businessman once communism fell. (RELATED: Art Smuggling Bust Uncovers Previously Unknown Painting By Iconic American Artist Worth $54 Million: Reports)
Most notably, Petrov was the head of one of the biggest Bulgarian insurance companies, Apollo and Balkan, according to BNR.
Police arrested Petrov in 2010, and he was charged with heading a crime group involved in extortion, racketeering, drug trafficking, money laundering and tax evasion, according to The AP.
After Petrov was released on bail the following year, he tried his luck and ran for president. Petrov also advised the head of the State Agency for National Security and was an economics lecturer at a university, The AP noted.