A man, allegedly linked to SIC, a now defunct 1990s strong-arm structure, has been shot dead Wednesday night in downtown Sofia.

Ivaylo Markov, 42, was shot with several bullets in the head and the chest in front of the block of apartments he lived in, near the Military-Medicine Academy. He was attacked as he was getting off his Volkswagen jeep in the underground garage where he usually parked his car.

Police says the assailants knew very well the itinerary of the man, who usually returned home at about 10 pm.

The unidentified assaulters are believed to have shot him with a pistol.

Markov has two registered companies, which deal with software products trade and construction works. Police says, back in the eighties, he had a criminal record for thefts and burglaries.

According to information of private Darik radio Markov is an associate of the late Milcho Bonev, who was shot dead in broad daylight in Sofia on July 30, 2004.

In the 90s Markov was granted a concession of a beach near the Black Sea town of Varna and managed it for a short while, reports say. His name is also associated with hotels in the Golden Sands resort.

Markov is married and has an eleven-year-old son.

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