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.

Unidentified gunmen opened fire on his Mercedes-Benz as he left his favorite restaurant, creating a fake automobile accident to seal off the road.

He was shot dead by a suspected sniper in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, little more than 10 years after his brother.