Police search Maritsa river in Plovdiv over murder of businessman Iliyan Filipov

Police are searching the Maritsa river near the bridge by the Plovdiv fair as part of the investigation into the murder of 53-year-old businessman Iliyan Filipov. The spot is on the route investigators traced from camera footage after the shooting.

The interior ministry and prosecutors have not officially confirmed that they are looking in the river for the gun used to kill Filipov. "The weapon used to murder Iliyan Filipov has not been found," interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said two days before the search at the river. The ministry said police have found other weapons linked to the accused, Slavcho Megerov, and are checking whether any of them are tied to other crimes. The gun used in the murder is not among them.

If the gun is found, a ballistics test could link it to the shot and establish its type, model and origin, and whether it is tied to other crimes. The search in the river is hard because of the current, the silt, poor visibility and the days that have passed since the shooting. It may need divers, magnetometers or other specialist equipment.

Filipov was killed in the lobby of a residential building in Plovdiv at about 1am on the night of 30 September. The first reports from the authorities said the shooting happened in a car park, but prosecutors later said it happened inside the building.

Footage shows a man linked to Megerov waiting near the building before Filipov arrived. At 1:03am the businessman went in through the entrance, and seconds later the man followed him. About a minute later he came out and quickly walked away.

Cameras filmed a red car on Peshchersko Shose and Koprivshtitsa street, and then on its way to the Maritsa, through the roundabout at the Water Palace and past the Plovdiv fair. Later footage shows a person who had already changed clothes throwing clothes and white trainers into waste containers.

On 4 October the Plovdiv regional court ordered 51-year-old Megerov held in custody. The court said there is a reasonable suspicion that he was involved in the killing. Megerov is presumed innocent until the court gives a final ruling, and the custody order is not a verdict.

As of 8 October, the case includes 7 searches and seizures at properties and cars in Sofia and Plovdiv, one crime-scene reconstruction and more than 31 witnesses questioned. Demerdzhiev said a huge amount of evidence has been gathered, and that in his view it points to the accused.

The two men knew each other and had dealings before the killing. Prosecutors say the motive is an unsettled financial dispute between them. The court also heard about illegal sports betting, known as "black toto", which has yet to be proved. Investigators are reconstructing their financial contacts, meetings and possible conflicts in the weeks before the shooting.

The prosecution case rests mainly on a chain of circumstantial evidence: camera footage, witness statements, seized items, expert reports and tracking of movements before and after the shooting. There is no direct eyewitness. Megerov's lawyers challenge the strength of the case because there is no weapon and no direct eyewitness. The court found the chain of evidence consistent enough to justify custody, citing the series of recordings.

Filipov was linked to PIMK, a company that works in transport and construction. Since August 2026 he has been listed as chairman of the board of directors of Botev Plovdiv football club. His killing caused a strong reaction in the city and in football.

Megerov has appealed the custody order, and the Court of Appeal in Plovdiv will hear the appeal on 13 October.