A municipal councillor from Democratic Bulgaria in Silistra, Stefan Zhelezov, has emerged as the owner of an apartment in the controversial complex in the Baba Alino area near Varna. The revelation came on 1 June, when property owners gathered at the complex and spoke to the media. Zhelezov himself maintains that his property is not among the illegal buildings because it has a traceable ownership and legal history in the Property Register.
Are there also legal properties in the complex declared illegal in Golden Sands?
Zhelezov told “Za Istinata” that he acquired a 55 sq m apartment and two parking spaces in 2023. The transactions were formalised through notarial deeds. The apartment was purchased in the name of his company, Zhelezov 2014 Ltd, and was subsequently rented out.
He also showed notices from Varna Municipality informing him of the property tax and waste collection fee he was required to pay. According to him, this was further evidence that the local authorities had been treating the properties he owned as lawful.
Stefan Zhelezov is an economist by training and a long-time accountant who handles the books for a number of companies in Silistra. He has also served two terms as a municipal councillor on the Silistra council, which deals with decisions under the Spatial Development Act. That experience, he argues, makes it less likely that he could have been misled about the legality of such an investment.
He says that after learning about the development planned by Forest Club in Varna, he contacted representatives of the company at their office in Grand Mall Varna. They took him to the complex and showed him the available apartments.
He then decided to sign a contract for one apartment and two parking spaces.
At the same time, he contacted business associates in Odesa to ask about the reputation of the company. They assured him that it was a serious investor, among the ten largest construction companies, and had built numerous projects in Odesa, so he had no reason to worry.
The councillor also checked the ownership history of the property he was being offered. The registers showed that it was an old property dating back to the socialist era.
According to his search of the Property Register, the property had a long history involving changes of ownership and changes in its designated use. The most recent change was from an aparthotel to a residential property.
All the apartments, he says, were recorded in the Property Register.
This is why he believes that at least some of the properties in the complex are legal and that his is one of them.
The properties were paid for in instalments under the contract he signed with Forest Ltd. The two parking spaces were transferred before a notary in autumn 2024, while the apartment was transferred in autumn 2025.
Zhelezov also submitted the required declarations for the properties to Varna Municipality’s Local Taxes and Fees Department. The municipality was therefore aware of the size and location of the properties and even sent him requests to correct the declarations so that the taxes arising from the acquisition could be calculated properly.
The apartment was subsequently rented out and has been occupied for around two years by a Ukrainian family.
One of the parking spaces is used by another Ukrainian woman who owns an apartment in the “illegal buildings” – one with no corresponding history in the public registers, according to Zhelezov.
The corporation also sent invoices to Zhelezov 2014 Ltd for water and electricity bills, although the property itself does not have its own individual electricity or water accounts.
Zhelezov believes his property is fully legal, but does not rule out the possibility that demolition orders could ultimately be issued for other structures in the complex.
He says, however, that the consequences should first be carefully assessed.
“I believe it is right to wait for the conclusions of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, which has given the institutions two weeks to investigate the circumstances. But what is certainly visible to the naked eye is that such large-scale construction could not have happened without the willing assistance of every possible institution,” Zhelezov said.
In his view, the development is simply too large to demolish and authorities should instead look for ways to legalise it.
