Organized crime has flowed into the institutions whose jurisdiction is precisely the fight against organized crime and corruption, especially in the bodies of the executive power and the judiciary.
This is written in the latest public version of the Serious and Organized Crime Risk Assessment (SOCTA 2024), which was prepared by an interdepartmental team composed of representatives of the intelligence and security sector authorities and the Special State Prosecutor's Office, with the coordination of the Bureau for Operational Coordination of Intelligence and Security Sector Authorities.
It was explained that organized crime in Montenegro does not deviate from the picture at the global and regional level, and that it achieves its influence through the implementation of violence and corruption.
"The proactive action of the intelligence and security sector bodies in the reporting period, and the initiation of criminal investigations and investigations, resulted in the identification of the inflow of organized crime into institutions whose jurisdiction is precisely the fight against organized crime and corruption, especially in the bodies of the executive power and the judiciary. Also, illegal activities have been identified that refer to responsible persons in business companies, other subjects of business operations or other legal entities, who by abusing their position or trust regarding the disposal of other people's property, exceeding the limits of their authority or failing to perform their duties, obtain for themselves or others an illegal material benefit or cause material damage," SOCTA writes.
They point out that corruption in Montenegro is characterized by the behavior of employees in state bodies and companies in the public and private sectors:
"Who, by abusing their official position and political and economic power, performing or failing to perform official actions, through clearly divided roles and tasks, carry out activities with the aim of obtaining illegal property benefits. This criminal activity produces a significant loss for the budget of Montenegro. Statistical data show that in the reporting period, it exceeds the amount of several tens of millions," the document says.
It was pointed out that, when it comes to the trends that follow this area, for the first time persons who occupied high positions in the bodies of the intelligence and security sector and the judiciary were prosecuted:
"Which corrupt criminal acts did they commit through the omission and non-performance of official actions, the disclosure of secret information from ongoing investigations, and the use of their position and mediation in passing judgments and decisions on the granting of international protection and the issuance of approval for the acquisition of weapons. The activities of these persons are registered in the activities of the OKG which dominantly carry out the activities of narcotics smuggling and the commission of serious crimes against life and limb, as well as in the activities of the OKG that deal with the smuggling of excise goods - cigarettes and weapons".
SOCTA also states that certain criminal groups were formed by public officials and officials of the intelligence and security sector:
"Who, by performing or failing to perform official actions, through clearly divided roles and tasks, carried out activities with the aim of obtaining illegal property benefits, in order to enable other members to obtain funds for the commission of a criminal offense and illegal property benefits for the entire OKG. Others, on the other hand, OKG are structured by persons who are not public officials, but use their services to carry out their criminal activities. them and the corrupt elements of the executive power, exploit family, friends and other persons with whom they have close relations and use their influence on the executive power, primarily on the security sector, but also the judiciary, and connections with state administration and local self-government bodies in order to support the implementation their criminal activities or exerted illegal influence. It can be said that the exploitation of family, loyalty and friendship as usual in the implementation of these activities does not deviate from the practice used by OKG on the soil of Europe".
It added that Europol's data shows that trusted members who are part of the inner circle of strategic actors and high-level actors are targeted to exert influence and get these actors to support criminal activities, knowingly or unknowingly.
"Areas particularly risky from the point of view of corruption and high-level corruption are transactions in excise goods and weapons, drug smuggling, import-export transactions, as well as those related to the banking sector, implementation of tender procedures and others".
"Persons who participate in the implementation of this criminal activity are adaptable and flexible, proactive in looking for new ways to progress and spread influence when implementing this criminal activity and relatively easily adapt to changes in legislation and policies of law enforcement authorities. The key targets of corruption are law enforcement authorities, primarily the Customs Administration and the Police Administration, as well as judicial authorities, i.e. officials of state bodies involved in the control of goods traffic, investigations, but also other administrations that implement tender procedures and policies, as well as persons in the private sector. The means most often used in order to carry out corrupt activities are predominantly financial means - money, services and other material goods. OKG and individuals carry out corrupt activities in order to achieve their goals, which are hiding and facilitating criminal activities, obtaining confidential information, avoiding and slowing down. investigation, implementation of activities in relation to opposing OKG, influence on judicial authorities, as well as obtaining illegal property benefits through judgments of judicial authorities," SOCTA writes.
It was clarified that violence or some form of intimidation is generally not used in order to carry out that criminal activity, but threats of violence were detected in some cases.
"Also, pressure was registered on certain persons by threatening the destruction of their property. The criminal activity in question has a direct impact on Montenegro, through the reduction of budget revenues in those activities that are aimed at smuggling, in the activities of public officials in law enforcement bodies, on the efficiency authorities, as well as the reduction of citizens' trust in the work of state institutions. Also, in companies that are partly owned by the state, damage occurred through a decrease in income, i.e. an increase in costs."
Political change disrupts crime
"Various political, social and socioeconomic factors affect the implementation of this criminal activity. Due to changes on the political level, there are also frequent changes in the positions held by public officials, which hinders the commission of criminal offenses for a long period of time and sometimes facilitates the detection of criminal offenses by those who succeed them in those positions.
Institutional weakness, susceptibility to corruption, the social status of officials and, on the other hand, the financial power possessed by OKGs operating in various criminal activities are factors that indicate that corrupt activities will continue in the coming period. A positive outcome in the court proceedings initiated in the previous period, i.e. the passing of final convictions, could have a significant impact on the situation in this area, whereby the purpose of general and special prevention during the imposition of criminal sanctions would be achieved to a significant extent," the Assessment reads. the dangers of serious and organized crime.
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