UNCLAS        ZAGREB 00075

SIPDIS
P 040632Z FEB 08

FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8540
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH PRIORITY 0833

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 
 
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Country Conditions 
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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. 
 
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NIV Fraud 
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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. 
 
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IV Fraud 
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No fraud detected during this reporting period. 
 
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DV Fraud 
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No fraud detected during this reporting period. 
 
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ACS and Passport Fraud 
---------------------- 
 
No fraud detected during this reporting period. 
 
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Adoption Fraud 
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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. 
 
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Use of DNA Testing 
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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. 
 
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Asylum and Other DHS Benefits 
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No fraud detected during this reporting period. 
 
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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. 
 
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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. 
 
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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. 
 
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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. 
 
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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. 
 
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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