VZCZCXRO1332
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0766/01 3080718
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 030718Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8746
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHMFIUU/FBI WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 000766 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/SCE AND DS/IP/EUR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KCRM ASEC HR
SUBJECT: CROATIA PURSUING MAJOR LAW ENFORCEMENT REFORMS IN 
WAKE OF MURDERS 
 
REF: A. REF A: ZAGREB 750 
     ¶B. REF B: ZAGREB 704 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The Croatian law enforcement system is 
undergoing a massive shake-up in 
reaction to several high-profile, mafia-style killings in 
Zagreb in October (Ref A and B) and 
long-stalled initiatives to fight organized crime are now 
quickly being implemented.  These 
initiatives include the formation of a national investigative 
unit, referred to in the press as 
the Croatian FBI, and adoption of new anti-mafia legislation 
as well as a reshuffling of 
leadership throughout the police forces.  The new Ministers 
of  Justice and Interior highlighted 
the new measures in an appearance before the Croatian Sabor 
on October 29. END SUMMARY. 
 
Leadership Changes at Police 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Immediately following the shooting death in central 
Zagreb of a prominent lawyer's daughter on October 6, Prime 
Minister Sanader replaced the Ministers of Justice and 
Interior and the Director of Croatian Police (REF B).  The 
shake-up, which included the appointment of the former head 
of the Intelligence service, Tomislav Karamarko as the new 
Interior Minister, received positive media coverage. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Karamarko and the new police director, Vladimir 
Faber, previously chief of police in Osijek, are now in the 
process of making staff changes.  Faber has been particularly 
outspoken, telling the press that many top-level police 
officials had obtained their positions due to political 
connections rather than professional qualifications, and that 
this practice would have to end.  He has followed up on this 
rhetoric with a series of dismissals and appointments within 
the police.  New appointees include Boris Spudic, filling a 
nearly one-year vacancy in the critical position of Chief of 
the Criminal Police; Zlatko Sokolar as Chief of Police in 
Dubravacko-Neretvanska county; and Ivica Tolusic as Head of 
the Operational-Communications Center at the Ministry of the 
Interior (MOI).  Dario Dasovic is now in charge of the 
Narcotics Department, Sanja Roguz is leading the Department 
for Criminal-Intelligence Analytics, and Damir Kukavica is 
heading of the Department for General Crime, Terrorism, and 
War Crimes.  Mato Blazanovic will lead the Department for 
Witness Protection.  Many of the new appointees -- including 
Faber himself, who was an IV program participant -- have 
participated in USG training programs and have a strong 
working relationship with the Embassy. 
 
The Croatian FBI 
---------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The long-rumored "Croatian FBI," formally called the 
National Police Office for the Investigation of Organized 
Crime, suddenly became a reality when, on October 27, Faber 
appointed Tihomir Kralj to head the office, with Zeljko 
Brincka as his deputy.  Kralj was previously head of the 
Drugs-Crime Department and Brincka was chief of the 
Crime-Analysis Department.  On the same day, the police 
announced that the Office had already begun operations. 
Special police teams from the office will be working directly 
with the Tax Administration and Customs Service to identify 
the revenue streams and properties of mafia members.  The new 
Office has also been called the "USKOK police" due to its 
close association with the work of the Office for Suppression 
of Organized Crime and Corruption (USKOK) in the State 
Prosecutor's office. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Sources told Poloff that the new Office was actually 
formed two months ago by decree of the minister, which a 
source called a "sub-legal act," but staffing disputes had 
left key positions unfilled.  The Office, one source stated, 
would be more effective and visible if it was established by 
a law similar to that which established USKOK in the 
prosecutor's office.  Currently, the police Office does not 
have formal contacts with prosecutors, who are unsure of its 
structure, since there is no underlying law governing its 
organization. At this point, it is unclear whether the new 
Office has a permanent staff or consists of personnel who 
will continue to work from their existing departments. 
 
Legislative Changes 
 
ZAGREB 00000766  002 OF 003 
 
 
------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) On October 29, the new Ministers of Justice and 
Interior, Ivan Simonovic and Tomislav Karamarko, appeared 
before the Croatian Sabor to describe to legislators the 
steps they have already taken since their appointment on 
October 10 and to highlight changes they are proposing to 
Croatian laws.  Sources briefed Poloff separately on details 
of the new measures. Several of them, such as asset 
forfeiture procedures, already exist under Croatian law but 
were not fully utilized prior to the murders, sources 
claimed.  Amendments to the criminal law and the law on 
criminal procedure which have been advocated by USG-funded 
assistance programs during the past few years, such as reform 
of investigative procedures and strengthening asset seizure 
laws, are part of the anti-mafia package currently in 
development. 
 
USKOK Courts 
------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) The creation of special USKOK courts to try 
organized crime and corruption cases is also receiving 
extensive media attention. The press has been critical of 
both the courts and prosecutors for their inability to 
conclude most of the corruption cases brought by USKOK to 
date.  The new Rule Book for Courts implements the 
designation of specific courts for USKOK cases.  These will 
not be special courts, per se.  Instead, the presidents of 
the four largest courts, the county courts in Zagreb, Osijek, 
Rijeka, and Split, will each designate a pool of judges who 
are specifically authorized to hear cases brought by USKOK 
prosecutors.  The judges responsible for USKOK cases will 
need to pass a special security check and obtain a security 
clearance.  In an agreement between Minister Simonovic and 
President of the Supreme Court, Judge Hrvatin, all hearings 
for pending USKOK cases must be scheduled at the designated 
courts and begin within two weeks. 
 
USKOK Investigations 
-------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Minister Simonovic also announced that the new Law 
on Criminal Procedure, which will shift responsibility for 
pre-trial investigations from investigative judges to 
prosecutors, will be implemented for USKOK before the rest of 
the legal system.  The law should take effect for USKOK in 
July 2009, while other prosecutor's offices will not 
implement the law in full until 2011.  A source in the 
prosecutor's office said there is an urgent need to train 
USKOK prosecutors now in order for them to be effective when 
their investigative authority expands next year. 
 
Asset Forfeiture 
---------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Asset seizure and asset forfeiture laws, according 
to one source, are currently inadequate, as they only allow 
prosecutors to target members of organized crime groups.  The 
new measures seek to broaden the scope of criminal acts which 
allow for asset seizure, including all corruption cases, 
trafficking in persons, and narcotics trafficking.  In 
addition, these asset seizure measures could be used against 
individuals, reagrdless of whether they could be specifically 
identified as members of criminal organizations.  Minister 
Simonovic announced that an amendment to the Croatian Penal 
Code will take effect at the end of the year to allow all 
assets to be forfeited by those convicted of organized crime 
unless the convict can prove the legal origin of assets. 
 
Banking Secrecy 
--------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Minister Simonovic also announced plans to change 
banking secrecy laws through amendments to the USKOK law. 
Currently, banks can refuse to provide information to USKOK 
about their clients' accounts.  If an investigative judge 
agrees with the USKOK request and the bank continues to 
refuse to comply, the bank might receive a minimal fine.  The 
new amendment would do away with the account secrecy 
protections in USKOK cases and will give organized crime 
prosecutors easier access to banking records. 
 
Police Force Restructuring and Expansion 
---------------------------------------- 
 
ZAGREB 00000766  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) Interior Minister Karamarko told the legislators 
that staff changes and restructuring of the police should be 
completed within the next 30 days.  He said that the work of 
law enforcement groups will be more closely coordinated with 
the intelligence services, which he headed until his current 
appointment this month. He announced that 250 police officers 
had already been reassigned to Zagreb to enhance security in 
the capital.  Finally, he said that the Interior Ministry 
must increase its staff and toward that end, the police 
academy will increase its admissions from 1400 to 2200 
trainees. 
 
Looking for a RICO Act 
---------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) With the anti-mafia package receiving wide press 
coverage, several media outlets reported positively about the 
U.S. RICO Act, saying that it is a strict law which provided 
excellent results in the United States in the fight against 
the mafia.  Several judges have also told Poloff privately 
that they would like to see a law similar to RICO for 
Croatia. 
 
USG Assistance/ICITAP Advisor 
----------------------------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) Post, in close coordination with the ICITAP 
Organized Crime Advisor for Croatia, is developing an action 
plan to address the changes to the law enforcement system and 
help the police strengthen their anti-mafia activities. 
Several key persons involved in drafting or implementing the 
new anti-crime legislation have close relationships with the 
Embassy and the ICITAP program, and many of the new measures 
reflect advice received through USG-funded programs.  (NOTE: 
The ICITAP program is currently funded through April 2009, 
when the program is scheduled to end.  The ICITAP advisor 
maintains an office at the MOI. We are currently seeking 
appointments with key policy makers such as Faber and Kralj 
to confirm their receptiveness to continued US training and 
advice on fighting organized crime.  Assuming they are 
receptive, Post will be seeking funds to extend the ICITAP 
program for one year beyond April 2009.  END NOTE.) 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) Croatia had some effective tools, such as USKOK, to 
target organized crime, but an inability to coordinate 
closely with the police and delays in getting cases through 
the courts have hampered the fight.  The new leadership at 
Justice, Interior, and within the police appears to be making 
progress in putting long-needed reforms in place.  The recent 
murders and accompanying media frenzy and calls for action 
provided the environment for this progress.  Despite the rush 
to show action, the government's response to date benefits 
from the considerable preparatory work already done on many 
of these issues, and is producing law enforcement structures 
with the potential for long term benefits for Croatia. 
Bradtke