Criminal Career
After the end of socialism, Iliev and a number of associates moved to Hungary, where they were engaged in some low-level criminal activities such as burglaries and car theft. Eventually he made a substantial amount of money and turned back to Bulgaria where he set up VIS (standing for Vyarnost, Investitsii, Sigurnost). The company's official business was in insurance and security, but this was really a front for criminal activity including extortion, selling stolen cars and contract killings and so on. The company was declared illegal in 1994 but its activities continued under VIS-2, yet another front for Iliev's criminal empire.
Iliev later made millions smuggling petroleum into Serbia during the UN-imposed embargo. By this time, Iliev was arguably the most powerful crime boss in the Balkans.
Read more about this topic: Vasil Iliev
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