He is a co-founder of Sheriff SRL, a Tiraspol-based firm that is the central pillar of the Sheriff Holding - a group of companies that controls the economy of the unrecognized Transnistrian republic in eastern Moldova. This business empire is active in virtually all sectors: import and retail of food, auto vehicles, fuels, medicines; production and export of spirits; hotel services; fixed-line and mobile phone communication; internet providing; banking; insurance; media; and press. It is the largest tax payer to the budget of breakaway Transnistria.

Another major business Ilya Kazmaly and his Sheriff partner Victor Gușan founded is Interdnestrcom, the unchallenged operator of fixed-line and mobile phone services in Transnistria, and the largest internet provider there. This company, based in Tiraspol, the capital of the enclave, dates back to 1998 and owns a statutory capital of some 1.6 million dollars. In 2014 and 2015 Interdnestrcom was the second largest tax payer in Transnistria, just behind Sheriff.

Again in team with Mr. Gușan, Ilya Kazmaly extended his control over strategic industries, taking over among others the Tiraspol oil storage facility and the Tiraspol construction plant, which they had privatized together.

Aside from Sheriff and Interdnestrcom, Mr. Kazmaly founded companies on the right bank of Moldova (under Chisinau’s jurisdiction), in Ukraine, and in offshore territories. For this, he used the IDs issued by three countries: Russia, Moldova, and Ukraine, as a citizen of all three countries.

In early 2000 Ilya Kzamaly and his long-time business partner Victor Gușan - using their Moldovan citizenship - founded in Chisnau a company called Iunitel-Grup SRL, a telecom operator. Four years later Kazmaly sold his share to a man named Ivan Ghecev.

Also in 2004 Mr. Kazmaly and Mr. Gușan - this time using their Russian citizenship - became co-founders or managers in six offshore entities in the British Virgin Islands: Vanora Financial Ltd., Mentor Financial Ltd., Civilpark Ltd., Minos Marketing Ltd., Palac Trading Ltd. and Morganton Investments Ltd. According to the papers in possession of RISE Moldova, two of these firms (Minos Marketing and Morganton Investments) accounted in 2015-16 for dozens of financial operations with entities in the Baltic States, Great Britain, and Cyprus. They spent more than 200 million dollars via Agroprombank in Tiraspol, which is part of the Sheriff group.

The Ukrainian official business register says that in early March 2020 Ilya Kazmaly and Daria Kazmaly, and a man named Viktor Ukrainetz were the beneficiaries of the Ukrainian mobile phone operator Intertelecom. Victor Gușan too was among the founders but later retired. As hostilities in 2016 continued in eastern Ukraine between the government troops and Russia-aided secessionist militias, Ukraine’s security service SBU began investigating the connections between Intertelecom and a suspected interception of mobile phone calls in favor of the Russian military.