Iliya Pavlov Naydenov (Илия Павлов Найденов) (August 6, 1960 - March 7, 2003) was a Bulgarian businessman. He was the leader and founder of the Multigroup organization, as well as of G-13.

Iliya Pavlov studied Journalism and Business Administration in the United States.

The prosperity of his organization is due to his first marriage to Toni Chergelanova, the daughter of General Chergelanov who was the chief of the Bulgarian Intelligence Service.

Sports career

Pavlov was a former Bulgarian wrestling champion. He was a kid when he understood that sport was his vocation.

Assassination

An assault on the life of Iliya Pavlov was attempted on June 17, 1997 when a bomb wrecked two of the cars belonging to conglomerate Multigroup on the road between Sofia and Bistritsa. One of the cars was Iliya Pavlov's armoured BMW, but he was not in the car.

Iliya Pavlov was assassinated on March 7 2003, at about 19:50. He was shot in the region of the heart while he was standing in front of his office. He was taken immediately to the Pirogov Hospital, but he died on the way.

Dr. Galev at the Pirogov Hospital explained that the usual attempts for restoration for life were unsuccessful. Only one bullet was found, and it was shot without a silencer, and probably by a sniper.

Interesting facts

Pavlov was ranked the eighth richest man in Central and Eastern Europe by the Polish magazine Wprost in November, 2002. He was said to be worth $US1.5 billion

See also

• Business
• List of Bulgarians
• Bulgarian tycoon gunned down
• Bulgarian Mafia