Vasil Iliev Security, or VIS, was a criminal organization in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

dealing in

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

car theft Motor vehicle theft or car theft (also known as a grand theft auto in the United States) is the Crime, criminal act of Theft, stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle. In 2020, there were 810,400 vehicles reported stolen in the United ...

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

and more. Set up in the early 1990s by

Vasil Iliev Vasil Iliev (; January 22, 1965 – April 25, 1995) was a Bulgarian mobster, businessman and wrestler. Iliev is considered to be the most powerful gangster in the Balkans of his time. Background Vasil Iliev was born in 1965 in Kyustendil, Bulgar ...

, the company was declared illegal in 1994, but continued operating under the new name of VIS-2. VIS, along with its rival

SIC The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; ''thus'', ''so'', and ''in this manner'') inserted after a quotation indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated as found in the source text, including erroneous, archaic, or unusual spelling ...

, was made up primarily of ex-wrestlers, policemen and members of the security apparatus. As well as extortion rackets, the groups also worked in "car insurance" and theft. The capital they earned in the emerging Bulgarian economy of the 1990s allowed them to build huge influence amongst the government.

was assassinated on 25 April 1995. His brother Georgi Iliev became the new boss of the company, but was assassinated on 25 August 2005.*

References

{{Authority control Bulgarian Mafia Organized crime groups in Bulgaria Security companies of Bulgaria Insurance companies of Bulgaria Defunct companies of Bulgaria

See also

References