Britons March on Bulgaria Ski Resort to Demand Entry to Their Own Flats

From The Mail on Sunday

By Martin Delgado

British  investors who spent millions of pounds on flats in a Bulgarian ski resort have accused a local property firm of illegally taking possession of the building and denying them entry.

About 70 families paid more than £6million for the apartments two years ago but have still not yet been able to gain access.

They plan to gather in the town of Bansko next month and demand to be let in to the All-Seasons holiday complex.

Investors bought one- and two-bedroom flats off-plan through Rockarch Estates, a London agency for British buyers of Bulgarian property.

But Rockarch says it was defrauded by a Bulgarian business partner with access to its accounts.

The woman is alleged to have secretly transferred 29 of the flats, plus a restaurant, swimming pool, spa, conference hall and 30 parking spaces to a Bulgarian firm, Zekom, for a fraction of their real value.

With the ownership in doubt, no title documents could be released and the Britons were stopped from entering the flats by security guards hired by Zekom.

The firm denies any wrongdoing.

There is no police investigation in Britain, but the case has been referred to the Bulgarian courts. A judge is expected to make a ruling next week. The Britons intend to insist on a legal right of permanent access to the flats.

The protest organisers include Paul and Sharon Hassall, who paid nearly £200,000 for two flats. Mr Hassall, a financial adviser from Horsham, West Sussex, said: ‘They were an investment and also intended as a holiday home for us and our four children. Instead we’ve suffered two years of financial stress and worry because of this dispute.

‘We have no complaint against Rockarch, which has done nothing wrong. But it’s hard to make progress in a dispute in a country as corrupt as this.’ Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007 but corruption is still rife.

Bansko, 120 miles from the Bulgarian capital Sofia, is a top-class ski resort. British buyers used to flock to Bulgaria but have largely stopped since the country’s property bubble burst in 2008.

Zekom is run by Roman Romanov, who claims to wield ‘significant political and economic influence among the elite

in Bulgaria’. When British investors complained about being denied entry to their apartments, Mr Romanov wrote to them: ‘All issues are to be resolved under Bulgarian law. This means only one thing – God Help You.’

He also warned that unless the Britons paid for security patrols hired by his firm, guards would be withdrawn, ‘exposing your property to the risk of looting’.

In the latest twist, Zekom has allegedly tried to oust the British owners and buy the site at a knockdown price by claiming a landslide has made it dangerous.

Rockarch Estates director Renetta Katchashka said: ‘This has been a disaster for me. Rockarch is no longer trading because I spend my whole time working on the case. Through the actions of my former business partner, Zekom has acquired assets it has not paid for.’

A Zekom spokesman said the company’s payment for the apartments ‘was done in full compliance with Bulgarian law’. He added: ‘No access is denied to owners who have presented their title deeds.’

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