Georgi Andreev Iliev was a Bulgarian entrepreneur and football club owner associated with Vis and VAI Holding. He owned Lokomotiv Plovdiv from 2001 and oversaw the club's first Bulgarian championship and Super Cup victories in 2004. He was assassinated in Sunny Beach on August 25, 2005.
Background
Georgi Andreev Iliev was born on July 22, 1966, in Kyustendil, Bulgaria. He trained in wrestling during his youth and won several competitions before a criminal conviction ended his sporting career. After serving a prison sentence, he entered the criminal and business networks that expanded rapidly in Bulgaria during the post-communist transition.
Iliev's business career became closely associated with Vis, a security and insurance organization founded by his brother Vasil Iliev. After Vasil Iliev was assassinated in 1995, Georgi Iliev became the leading figure associated with the organization, later operating through VAI Holding. Reporting about the group connected its interests with security, insurance, tourism, hotels, restaurants, and other commercial activities.
Career
After his release from prison, Iliev became involved in criminal and commercial activity in Bulgaria's post-communist business environment. He was associated with Vis and later VAI Holding, organizations described in reporting as having interests in security and insurance as well as hotels, restaurants, tourism, and other businesses. Investigative and official commentary also associated him with organized-crime networks, smuggling, and drug dealing, although some allegations were reported as claims rather than established court findings.
Iliev entered football ownership through Velbazhd Kyustendil and acquired Lokomotiv Plovdiv in 2001. During the 2001–2002 season, the clubs were merged, creating the modern Lokomotiv Plovdiv side. Lokomotiv won its first Bulgarian championship in the 2003–2004 season and the Bulgarian Super Cup in July 2004, achievements that made Iliev one of the most prominent football owners in Bulgaria.
On August 25, 2005, Iliev was shot by a sniper at Buddha Bar in Sunny Beach while celebrating Lokomotiv Plovdiv's qualification for the UEFA Cup after a victory over OFK Beograd. He died at the age of 39. The killing remained part of the wider series of unresolved assassinations associated with Bulgaria's organized-crime conflicts during the transition period.
Achievements
As owner of Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Iliev oversaw the club's first Bulgarian championship in the 2003–2004 season.
As owner of Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Iliev oversaw the club's victory in the Bulgarian Super Cup in July 2004.
Under Iliev's ownership, Lokomotiv Plovdiv qualified for the UEFA Cup in August 2005 after defeating OFK Beograd on away goals.
Interests
Football club ownership and tourism businesses
Sport & Clubs
Wrestling and football
Connections
Iliev was the brother of Vasil Iliev, the founder of Vis, who was assassinated in Sofia in 1995. Georgi Iliev was married to Maya Ilieva from 1994 until his death in 2005.
Brother:
Vasil Iliev
Founder of VIS and a prominent figure in Bulgaria's post-communist organized-crime networks; he was assassinated in Sofia in 1995.
Wife:
Maya Ilieva
Married Georgi Iliev in 1994 and remained his wife until his death in 2005.
References
Loko Plovdiv president shot dead
UEFA report documenting Iliev's presidency of Lokomotiv Plovdiv, the club's 2005 UEFA Cup qualification, and his assassination in Sunny Beach.
2005
Dead Bulgarian Football Leaders
Investigative account placing Iliev within the history of VIS and the violent organized-crime networks connected with Bulgarian football ownership.
Bulgarian Crime Figure Shot Dead
Contemporary report describing Iliev as a reputed crime figure, his prison sentence, association with VIS, football ownership, and assassination.
