FRAUD SUMMARY - ZAGREB

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000075 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR CA/FPP AND CA/VO/F/P DEPARTMENT ALSO PASS TO KCC WILLIAMSBURG VIENNA ALSO FOR DHS/BICE POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC HR SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY - ZAGREB REF: 05 STATE 205073, 07 STATE 171211 -------------- Country Conditions -------------- Political Structure: The Republic of Croatia has three branches of national government: a unicameral legislature (Sabor); a judiciary; and an executive branch. The Executive Branch is further divided into the Presidency and the Government of the Republic of Croatia. The Government is headed by a prime minister who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the leader of the Sabor. The Prime Minister appoints members of the Government who are confirmed by the leader of the Sabor. Croatia has a multi-party system. Currently, the center-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leads the Government. HDZ lacks a majority in the Sabor, and therefore depends on a coalition of smaller parties to maintain its leadership position. The main opposition party to the HDZ is the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Economy: The Republic of Croatia has a market-based economy. The tourism sector continues to be an important employer of the country's 4.6 million citizens. Croatia experienced satisfactory economic growth over the last few years, yet the cost of living increased substantially. Salaries in Croatia have not increased with the cost of living, but Croatians manage to survive, often through the creative use of credit. The average monthly salary in Croatia is approximately 857 USD. Judicial System: The judicial system consists of a Constitutional Court, a Supreme Court, county courts, municipal courts, and the petty crimes courts. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases. The Constitutional Court rules on the constitutionality of laws and government actions as well as protecting and enforcing constitutional rights. Croatia has the largest number of judges, per capita, in Europe. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, Croatia's legal system is chronically slow, and even the simplest cases can take years, even decades to get through the courts. Zagreb is considered a low-level fraud post. -------------- NIV Fraud -------------- Low-level fraud is detected in some NIV applications and is primarily employment-based. Examples of such fraud include false job letters, inflated salaries, and false statements concerning purpose of travel. Most of these cases are uncovered through persistent questioning by the consular officer and/or a phone call to the applicant's alleged employer. -------------- IV Fraud -------------- No fraud detected during this reporting period. -------------- DV Fraud -------------- No fraud detected during this reporting period. -------------- ACS and Passport Fraud -------------- No fraud detected during this reporting period. -------------- Adoption Fraud -------------- Croatia's adoption procedures are extremely complex and restrictive for foreigners. As such Post processes very few adoption cases. In FY2007 Post processed only one adoption case, and that case was for a Bosnian-born child. -------------- Use of DNA Testing -------------- DNA testing in Croatia is available, but expensive. The cities of Zagreb, Osijek, Split, and Petrova all have facilities for DNA testing charging an average of 1200 USD per test. -------------- Asylum and Other DHS Benefits -------------- No fraud detected during this reporting period. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Alien Smuggling, Trafficking, Organized Crime, Terrorist Travel - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Croatia is a major transit point for illegal immigrants traveling to the EU. Most illegal immigrants enter Croatia from Serbia and exit into Slovenia. In 2007 increased efforts by local police to stem the rising illegal migration to the EU through Croatia resulted in the arrest of twenty human traffickers and many more suspected human smugglers. Although primarily a transit country for illegal drugs in the past, Croatia is increasingly becoming an end user. During the first two weeks of 2008 more than 77 kilograms of heroin was confiscated in drug busts by Croatian police, surpassing the total amount confiscated in the previous year. -------------- DS Criminal Fraud Investigations -------------- The Consular Section and RSO exchange information on a daily basis and cooperate closely. RSO is immediately informed when citizenship and/or passport fraud is suspected and is directly involved in any investigation, as well as assisting as needed in cases involving suspected visa fraud. RSO also routinely involves the Consular Section on any cases with a consular element. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Host Country Passport, Identity Documents, and Civil Registry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Official Croatian identity and civil documents are generally considered reliable. Stolen and/or sold Croatian passports are sometimes used by other nationalities, particularly Serbians, to cross into the EU. Other documents such as student records and employment books are less reliable as they lack any security features other than ink stamps, and can be easily falsified or altered. -------------- Cooperation with Host Government Authorities -------------- The Croatian Law for the Protection of Personal Data prohibits the sharing of information on criminal suspects with any foreign government. As a result, there is currently little cooperation with local authorities on fraud issues. -------------- Areas of Particular Concern -------------- Local newspapers report on petty and serious crimes every day, however the surname and first initial of the accused is released. The Croatian Law for the Protection of Personal Data does not allow Croatian authorities to freely share this information with Post, even for law enforcement purposes, thus limiting our ability to enter potential ineligibilities into INK. For more serious crimes, post resorts to Internet searches and other means to obtain the necessary bio data. Post continues to explore with the Croatia authorities possible solutions to allow data sharing, including the possibility of including such information use in a broader Agreement on Law Enforcement Cooperation. -------------- Staffing and Training: -------------- Post's Fraud Prevention Manager is Ruta D. Elvikis. The new Fraud Prevention Officer is Patrick R. Wingate. Post is pleased to welcome Oliver Ostojic as the new Fraud Prevention Investigator. Oliver has extensive professional experience working with U.S., Croatian, and other international law enforcement authorities and has already in his short time at post succeeded in identifying several known criminals who were unwittingly issued visas. Post has nominated Oliver for the FSI Fraud Prevention Workshop in March. BRADTKE