FBI and Montenegro Combating Corruption and Organized Crime

March 5, 2010 - Today, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) David Cardona, Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) Pete Grupe, and ASAC David Shafer met with representatives from Montenegro, including Organized Crime Unit Police Directorate Chief Rajko Malovic, President of Basic Court Mr. Zoran Radovic, and Deputy Special Prosecutor for Fighting Organized Crime and Public Corruption Matters Ms. Stojanka Radovic. The officials from Montenegro traveled to New York’s FBI office to discuss their programs to explore U.S. approaches to combating organized crime, especially those related to fraud, cyber crime, money laundering, and other financial crimes as well as combating public corruption, including corruption of high-level government officials.

SAC David Cardona, ASAC Pete Grupe, and ASAC David Shafer each addressed the concerns of the representatives, including the multiplicity of organized crime in New York and the U.S. and Montenegro’s cohesive goal of discovering the international links to organized crime in both countries.

Montenegro is an independent and sovereign Republic that proclaimed its new Constitution in 2007. Their primary law enforcement agency is the Police Administration with its 8,000 armed officers, overseen by the Ministry of Interior and Public Administration.

FBI legal attaché offices, commonly known as legats, are responsible for providing coverage for more than 200 countries, territories, and islands. They are managed by the International Operations Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. This office keeps in close contact with other federal agencies, Interpol, foreign police and security officers in Washington, and national and international law enforcement associations. The legat in Sarajevo covers the Republic of Montenegro. International liaisons and information sharing are conducted in accordance with Executive Orders, laws, treaties, Attorney General Guidelines, FBI policies, and interagency agreements.

During today’s meeting, SAC David Cardona said, “The more we can cultivate relationships with law enforcement to provide assistance to international and national partners, the more capable we are at addressing the crimes that cross international borders at the mutual benefit of citizens from all countries working to fight organized crime. As we both learn about the international connections of criminal organizations, the greater an effect the US and Montenegro will have on crimes in both our countries.”