Sheriff is the second-largest company based in Transnistria, in the city ofTiraspol. Formed in the early 1990s by Viktor Gushan and Ilya Kazmaly, former members of the special services, Sheriff has grown to include nearly all forms of profitable private business in this small unrecognised country, and has even become significantly involved in Transnistrian politics and football.
Transnistrian government policies have isolated the region from the rest of Moldova, allowing Sheriff to forge a monopoly there. This led to a time of cooperation between the government of Igor Smirnov and Sheriff. The company supported government policy and in return, the customs service, headed by the president's son, Vladimir, gave Sheriff a reduction on taxes and import duties. He was also said to be a major silent partner among the leadership of the company. As time progressed, however, Transnistria's indeterminate status has slowed the growth of Sheriff. When a new party, Renewal, was formed in 2000 with the goal of independence from Moldova, Sheriff supported them. Renewal is also known for its support of the interests of big business. Kazmaly, co-founder of Sheriff, and the company's Human Resources Director, Ilona Tyuryaeva, were both elected to parliament as members of Renewal. Some media sources claimed Oleg Smirnov, younger son of president Igor Smirnov, to be among the top leadership of Sheriff company, though these allegations have never been proved. Moreover, after 2006 the leadership of Sheriff openly opposed Smirnov's politics. After presidential elections of 2011 allegations of Smirnov's clan involvement in Sheriff disappeared from articles about Transnistria. Sheriff has used its economic clout to sway elections, by virtue of their ownership of the country's mobile/landline phone network and of TSV, a local television station. In the 2005 Parliamentary elections, Renewal gained an absolute majority in the parliament, holding 23 of 43 seats. This victory ousted long-time Speaker of Parliament Grigori Maracutsa, replacing him with Renewal leader Evgeny Shevchuk, who also had strong ties to Sheriff. Fearing a loss of power, the government of Smirnov accused Shevchuk and Sheriff of plotting a coup d'état in Transnistria. The accusation stated that Sheriff was plotting to reintegrate Transnistria with Moldova, in return for profitable business conditions for the company there. Sheriff has strongly denied these accusations, and maintains that they also desire independence from Moldova. Following multiple attacks between the two parties, Smirnov received the support of the Russian government. Since then, Shevchuk has disappeared almost entirely from the media, and did not register to be a candidate in the December 2006 presidential election. However, in 2011 Shevchuk beat both Igor Smirnov and Renewal's new leader Anatoliy Kaminski in the elections for the Presidency of the republic. On 29 December 2012 President Yevgeny Shevchuk issued a decree abolishing all preferences previously granted to Sheriff by Igor Smirnov and thus ending the period of the company's privileged position in Transnistria's economy.
