Intelligence agency report confirms scam by which Balkan gangsters with no connection to Slovakia tried to get residency in the EU state.
Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok (L) and Serbia’s Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic (R) address the media after their meeting in Belgrade, 8 February 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANDREJ CUKIC
High ranking members of Western Balkans crime groups tried to obtain residence permits in Slovakia by means of a scam, the unclassified Report on the Activities of the Slovak Information Service SIS for 2021 says, Slovak media report.
“In some cases, the SIS prevented the granting of residence to these persons, who often use the Slovak Republic primarily to create a base in the EU and subsequently commit criminal activity in other member countries,” the report explained.
“These groups are trying to replace disbanded domestic criminal groups and commit various types of violent and economic crime,” it noted.
In May, media reported a scam by which letters of confirmation from a Slovak cultural heritage organisation in Serbia enabled foreigners with no links to Slovakia to obtain Slovak citizenship faster.
Matica Slovenska’s local office in the Serbian town of Padina issued fake documents confirming applicants’ connection to Slovakia, though they had nothing to do with the country, the Sme daily reported. Thanks to the documents, they could have gained the status of a Slovak national living abroad.
The Office for Slovaks Living Abroad has stopped recognising letters of confirmation from Matica Slovenska in Serbia for the first time.
Matica Slovenska’s main office in Slovakia explained that while Matica Slovenska in Serbia is a sister organisation, it acts independently.
Documents obtained by regional N1 TV show that, in 2020 and 2021 alone, the Serbian branch issued at least seven suspicious letters of confirmation. However, Mihail Spevak, from another local association of Slovaks, told N1 that at least 100 letters were issued.
Source link: balkaninsight.com
