Photo: screenshot from ACF video
“Energy in Bulgaria is captured. And the owner of this captured energy is called Hristo Kovachki.” With these words, former gas trading director at “Orion Holding” Veselin Todorov breaks the silence and exposes a scheme he claims controls entire cities and millions of consumers in an economic trap. (Video – here).
The investigation by the Anti-Corruption Fund (ACF), published on June 2nd, reveals how over 150 seemingly independent companies—spanning energy, mining, fuel, and gas trading—are in fact managed from a single central authority. “Everything in the holding happens through offshore companies and proxies,” says Todorov.
“I myself was a proxy for one of Kovachki’s companies,” admits the manager. He explains that the electronic signatures of the formal managers are kept locked with a central team of accountants: “I did not have access to my electronic signature for four years.”
According to Todorov, the structure maintains two “independent” companies in each sector that supposedly compete with each other but actually coordinate their prices: “These two firms, formally independent, can make deals with each other that influence the market. This is classic cartel behavior.”
The witness claims that the profits are generated from the thermal power plants and then funneled to related traders of electricity and gas through “input-output” companies, which buy raw materials at inflated prices and sell energy cheaply within the group. “This scheme is designed to extract the maximum possible profit,” emphasizes Todorov.
The former manager also alleges that the holding was warned about upcoming inspections—even by the European Prosecutor’s Office. “While I was working in the holding, there were several times when there was an order to ‘fire up’ or ‘discard’ documents.” He believes that some documents were shredded or burned days before searches.
The control system also included records of orders worth millions signed by senior personnel to keep them “on a short leash.” The former manager, Todorov, also testifies about threats, including being followed outside his home after refusing to sign such a document.
“I am ready to respond to any institution that seeks me,” he states, urging European and Bulgarian authorities to unravel the schemes he describes. The Anti-Corruption Fund (ACF) has already reported the published documents and video materials to the European Prosecutor’s Office and regulators.
This is the second part of the ACF documentary series “Uncle Trevichko’s Holding,” focused on the network of Hristo Kovachki. The first episode uncovered potential abuses related to carbon quotas and fictitious transactions. Now, the witness testimony provides an insider’s look into the management, market, and pressure tactics that, according to the ACF, sustain the “captured” energy sector.
