Montenegro is in the 45th position, among 193 members of the United Nations, in terms of the representation of organized crime
Serbia is in 33rd place and is the first of the European countries among the UN members in terms of the representation of organized crime, Bosnia and Herzegovina is in 49th place, North Macedonia is 74th, Croatia is 85th, and Slovenia is 132nd, according to the Global Index for 2020.
According to the data of the Global Index of Organized Crime, Montenegro is positioned in 45th place with 6 index points, and among 44 European countries it is fourth on the list.
"Montenegro is located along one of the most important transit routes for arms trade in the region, from Serbia to the Middle East, Russia to North Africa (especially Libya), and the Balkans to Western Europe, as well as from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Serbia and Kosovo. Weapons is usually smuggled as legal cargo in private vehicles. After the Yugoslav conflict, small arms were in circulation and are still readily available today on the black market, making Montenegro one of the largest numbers of armed civilians globally. Although the trade is highly profitable for criminal groups, the level of arms trafficking fell sharply between 2017 and 2018, and organized crime groups moved away from guns and into cigarette and drug smuggling," the report said.
When it comes to the environment, the report states that illegal logging takes place in the northern parts of Montenegro, which "ensures the livelihood of poor villagers". It is also stated that there is little evidence that criminal networks manage these activities.
The report also mentions poaching on Lake Skadar, as well as that Albanian organized criminal groups smuggle illegal fuel from Montenegro in large quantities, and that fuel is also smuggled into Montenegro from Novi Pazar.
When it comes to drug smuggling, it is stated that Montenegro is a transit country for heroin, from where Albanian and Kosovo heroin is smuggled into Serbia and the EU.
"Several organized crime groups are involved in the market, bringing with them a significant level of violence. Despite the role of a transit country, the domestic consumption of heroin is still low. Montenegro is primarily a transit country, and to some extent a destination country, for cocaine. Montenegro is the main place the entry of cocaine traded through the Balkans into the EU, especially cocaine coming from Latin America. The market is controlled by several mafia-style groups, most notably the Kavač clan and the Škaljari clan. High levels of violence are associated with the trade. However, local consumption is relatively low due to high prices. Montenegro is a major transit country for cannabis originating in Albania that is transported to Bosnia and Serbia. Cannabis is also the most seized and consumed drug in the country, with a visible increase in consumption over the last decade. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the price of cannabis increased due to greater demand for recreational use.The production of synthetic drugs is also on the rise in Montenegro, and several laboratories have been discovered in recent years. In line with higher production, consumption rates are also increasing, albeit from relatively low levels. Due to the small size of the market, there is little evidence of organized crime involvement," the report says.
"criminal actors"
The domestic and transnational criminal markets in Montenegro are dominated by mafia groups - the Skaljar and Kavak clans, which fight for territory and dominance over the criminal markets.
"Violence among these groups is common and often spills over the border into Serbia, with the cocaine market generating the most violence. Criminal networks are well-consolidated and highly sophisticated, often collaborating with mafia-style groups and with corrupt police forces and politicians. These groups they are not as powerful as mafia groups... State actors are heavily involved in criminal markets, and law enforcement, secret services and politicians provide protection to criminal actors and their assets. The country's political leadership has remained unchanged for almost 30 years, establishing a powerful network of corrupt civil servants , private companies and criminal actors involved in the management of illicit markets. However, in 2020 the previous leadership gave way to a newly elected government, which declared anti-corruption efforts and Montenegro's accession to the EU as its top priorities. Serbian criminal groups play a very influential role in Montenegrin criminal markets, as well as historical Russian criminal groups, whose influence has weakened since 2016 and the accession to NATO. Turkish criminal actors are trying to integrate more into Montenegrin criminal markets," the report says.
"Leadership and Management"
"The country's ruling party has been in power since 1991 and showed little political will to tackle organized crime, before giving way to a newly elected government in December 2020. The country appears to be somewhat preoccupied with organized crime interests. Despite constitutional parliamentary system, measures to significantly expand presidential powers and further weaken parliamentary oversight were enacted in 2018. Public trust in the state was low in 2020, and criminal groups often protected ruling elites. Corruption remains widespread, with the authorities' modest efforts, driven by EU accession rules, yielding limited results".
The report also states that several significant cases of corruption and bribery in recent years "did not prompt appropriate measures by the authorities".
"The functioning of state administration lacks legal clarity and there are no effective accountability processes. Transparency of law and order is limited, and efforts to improve it are limited and poorly implemented. International cooperation has improved significantly in recent years, especially after the country joined NATO - and has signed bilateral agreements with the US and other Western and neighboring countries. The country has closely participated in the EU's arms trade policy and co-leads EMPACT. Montenegro benefits from EU-funded projects to increase efficiency and cooperation between regional and national authorities in the fight against organized crime. Montenegro also cooperates well with law enforcement agencies, such as INTERPOL. However, the criminal occupation of parts of the state apparatus limits the scope and effectiveness of international cooperation. Although Montenegro has one of the largest national policies and strategies dedicated to the fight against organized crime in region, there are serious deficiencies in their application and deficiencies in the Criminal Procedure Law. However, some progress has been made in the fight against human trafficking, after the government implemented a national anti-trafficking strategy," the Global Organized Crime Index report states.
"Criminal Justice and Security"
It further states that corruption is "widespread in the judicial system", and that in 2018, secret recordings were released that implicated high-ranking judicial officials in bribery and corruption.
"Furthermore, the judicial capacity in Montenegro is low and there is a lot of political interference in the courts. This means that, despite an adequate legal and regulatory framework to fight organized crime, judicial enforcement is ineffective. Meanwhile, the prison system does not meet international standards for health protection, education and human rights. Law enforcement is fragmented and under-resourced, lacking professionalism and technical skills. There are no measures in place to ensure that there is no political interference in the work of law enforcement agencies that are currently unable to maintain the integrity of their investigations Rulers often use law enforcement as a tool, especially at election time."
In the report, the drink and that Montenegro has a long and vulnerable coastline with numerous ports that are used as points of human trafficking, and which have experienced increasing human trafficking, especially cocaine.
"Government officials' own involvement in cigarette smuggling has led to a reluctance to tighten border controls, however, in recent years there has been more cooperation with EU customs authorities to address the issue. The government's strategic framework for border management is focused on increasing skills and analytical capacity, improving the screening of cargo ships, as well as greater cooperation between the border police and customs. Overall, the border police still lack sufficient funds and resources, and corruption is an ongoing issue," the report says.
"Economic and financial environment"
According to the State Department, Montenegro meets the minimum requirements for fiscal transparency, and although there are laws and units to prevent money laundering, their implementation is weak and ineffective.
"The tools for freezing, handling and confiscating criminal assets are inadequate, and known criminals feel sufficiently protected to put their names on their illicit assets. The Council of Europe expressed concern about the lack of capacity and professionalism in anti-money laundering and terrorist financing activities. Gora scores fairly well in the area of economic capacity, with credit readily available, with easy cross-border trade and tax regimes. The economy has grown with low to moderate inflation, but there is high public debt, poor protection of minority investors and low property rights. Weakness the rule of law and the unfair competition of the informal economy harm the business environment, in addition to the labor market, which faces structural challenges and high unemployment".
"Civil society and social protection"
Although the Montenegrin witness protection program could be improved, it meets most of the internationally recognized mechanisms that help victims get out of modern slavery, the report says.
"Montenegro has two strategies to support victims of human trafficking, but little has been done and specialized units do not have enough resources for effective identification of victims. Montenegro has established sectoral strategies and action plans to fight organized crime, however state authorities (law enforcement authorities and prosecutors' offices) need more operational capacity and cooperation to be effective. The police in Montenegro is decentralized and works closely with local communities, which helps prevent some minor criminal activities, but the Anti-Corruption Agency is considered insufficiently independent and proactive. S Given that criminal activities are strongly linked to state actors in Montenegro, prevention still lacks political will and legal and technical assistance. The media environment is censored, with the usual violence against journalists and attacks from the government. As part of the EU accession process, certain efforts to involve civil society in policy discussions, but these were superficial. Civil society organizations are also heavily influenced by Russian disinformation campaigns and those that reinforce social divisions."
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