CRIME IN YUGOSLAVIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700100193-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 21, 2011
• Sequence Number: 193
• Publication Date: January 17, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION BESTNLCTEn
' - CENTRAL INTELL
G NCE GENC
I
Y REPORT'
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS cD rdo.
COUNTRY Yugoslavia
DATE OF
SUBJECT sociological -Crime INFORMA
TION 1952
HOW
PUBLISHED Daily ner+spapers DATE DfST. I'] Jan 1953
WHERE
PUBLISHED Zagreb; Belgrade
NO. OF PAGES u
DATE
PUBLISHED 24 Mar - 5 Jul, 1952
LANGUAGE SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO,
- ~~~- --???. .~.~ar. ?Irxlx rx[xf?rlr0 0. Irl[ 1 ff Cil Cxf 11)
?ro nc. or rx[ u.f. coe[. a ?xne[o. of r............. .. _..._
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMA7"ION
CRSMB IN YUG0.SLAVIA
~i'h? Y11g09184 press has recently been concerned with e
purported increase in crimes "against social property and the
economy," although other. kinds of cram: have repor*..edly decreased.
Politika has been publicizing such crimes and criminals and
recently invited comment from members of workers' councils,
administrative counc:ls of economic enterprises, trade end
.inspection agencie>. and agencies of public prosecution and
the courts, co that "these developments may be examined from
all sides, and do that the Joint experience of a)~~ ~'-.ae who
gua*d the people's property can be ~tii:ze:i rnp~.c13- ~ ,~ moat
e_?ficientl,}. to ureartY. the causes for the existence o? the
economic criminal and to point out the possibilities oP
eliminating him (Politika, 16 May 195?).
Crime reporting does not ordinarily occupy much apace
in the Yugoslav press, but during the discussion mentioned
above many articles describing :riminal ac*ivity were
published, especially in Politika, seemingly indicating
more than ordinary concern with the problem. The severe
sentences, including death by firing squad, handed down
by some courts seem to bear out this concern,
Numbers in parentheses refer to appended sources]
Politika reports that large-scale thefts, and embezzlement at the Bor Mine
shoe that ateaiing has not been limited to workers or minor officials. Hexe,
p:?actically all top officials participated in one xay or another in stealing
from the enterprtsa, with one of them revealing party secrets to worm his xay
into the group.
NSIia
fat
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Politika states that former collaborators and enemies of the people who
infiltrated various establishswnts after. the liberation were to blame for certain
thefts.
AccordlnS to Politika, criminal sofa against soclal property and the
economy, consisting of stealing, embezzlin and cover
steady increase ir.:'ugoalavie in ?the st ?' ~ up, have shown a
of crimi:sl activity, e;peCiglly counptearrevolutiona ~e mad?rity of other forma
steadily decrEasing, In .1911, thefts of state propertycconstitutede`~een
cent oP all theft,. ~hE economy suffered losses oP about g4j million dinars
through criminal activity. Since losses cazld not bE determined in 7,692
criminal cases, aincE c.rimiral proceedings are still under way in some cases,
and since all losses havE ant yet bee^ rEported to prosecuting agencies, it
can be supposed that losge; in the ,ecialist aec.tor actual]y amounted to 600
million dinars.;::. Politixa writes that, although such losses have not halted
progress, they have bFEn harmful to t:is Yugoslav economy.~.,l)
Barba points out that, in considering these manife;t,ations, the rapid
devEloprent oP the ecci.a'_st sector :h?:uld be taken Into consideration, as
well as th? Pact that the r,?w criminal code enacted in the second half of 1951
m4.kes certain sets Formerly punishable by administrative discipline now p+mi.eh-
able as criminal acts.
Most crimi:al act= against the aoci.alist sector have been ones against
Prrper*.y. Barba mnict>ina t,at the m,~t. da .gerous type of criminal act against
the eCG.nGII17 ;s ttE the__?L of small. amounts of raw or :iaished products from
certaln typr.+s oP e~terpriaES. Such thefts occurred particularly in the textile,
leather, and metal induetrtea, being committed ma,tly by people who had dust
comE iram rural. areas ?o work In industry. They occurred particularly where
bookkeeping anal i:nveatcry rea~rd; war? disorganized an3 3ilator,~, eo that losses
were not i?nediately dl=ccvFred. Thefts of money coupons for ladustrLtl goods,
items in great demand, falsification of saving; account bucks; sad the like also
took p1acE.(2,1 One of the reasoca for thi.a type oP crim'.nailty dates bacx to
the past `prsv!.ou t~ C~rn_?,rist a~_umptir,n oP .power, xhen easy profits could
be attained in vsric:u; devio.rs wavy. ~~'?
Bcrba antes the+, criminal act; apain_t farm cork cooperatives were mainly
thefts oP eocpAratlvF property, usually agricultural product=, livestock, and
tools; arbitrary, heedless, and unscrupulous acts against coop>zativE property;
tmpropsr conduct ir, an ofi.ictal pnaltton; cuttl_?,g o.f trr_os b=longing to
cooperative=, an3 t.te like.
In 1951, according to Bcrba, thefts of railroad property and property be-
lnuging to other means of trenaportation were quite numerous, and were boldly
accomplished by cutting and destroying lead seals, breaking through tL?e flooring
of zailroad cars, etc. The perpetrators were mostly persons employed in trana-
pcr?rAtlon work, wa.rehau;emen, and. railroad personnel. They preyed on care
stard.ing L rai roa3 yards, mostly at night.
Grimirrii acts against general peoule~a property were most often ccmatitted
by persc?ns .~rnpicyed in Enterprises and establishments to whom property was
Entreated., eap_cisl7y managers, treasurers, and warehousemen, Barba continues.
Ir. an overwhelming majority a_? ca see, thefts and Embezzlements were not
ccmimlttEd by Four p=opie, but by individuals who wanted an even easier and
more luxnrL?~s lifE.
Barbs stresses that poor security precautions favor the commission of
crimes against socialist property, esp_cially cooperative property, so that an
individual does aot have to be particularly skillful or daring to steal. Daily
occurrences iilu=trate this point. Some enterprises often oppose security
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measures with the excuse that they lack necessary materials, credit, and the
like. Enterprises and establishments frequently employ new personnel who are
not well c..rcked, their past history and moral character not being investigated..
:Inspections of enterprises, cooperatives, sad various stores are not made
regularly, and when they are made, they are incomplete and iasuf?iciently dau-
mented. SuFervisicn is made difficult by disorganized and dilatory bookkeeping
{2) and poor inveatery records.rl) The division of duties between officials
and other perFons answerable for materials and finances is not always executed
properly, making maL easaZCe possible and hampering the discovery o? the actual
culprit. Some enterprise managers thoughtlessly entrsst property and large
sums oP mor_Fy to F~rsons who are morally wesk.;2) Grimes also occur because
of the political swbveroioz of cooperative awmbers.l)
Borba states that, although yid;?slavia~s crime and investigation serriae
is steadily prcgressiag, some. of the iwestigators still cannot always see their
way through badly mixed up and complicated matters, especi.e.l.:y in cannectlon
with shertagea in eerrral agricultiutftl cooperatives. The p:oceedinga in such
ca=?? are slow and inefficient and often the culprit cannot be fouud. Conse-
quently, the number e^ undiscovered criminals i.s nn the rise, especis]1y where
the L^veatigation service is w.astiefactory, as in Ri~e.ka, Pula, an4 other
places.')
Foiitika notes that the courts Piave recently begun, an iav,si.eied battle
against these criminals, not azly agains*. the perpetrators but also against
those vhose be'ravicr in the enterprise or i.n other places her coasciou5lj. or
~mcoasciously created favorable conditions for such acts.Lll
The courts, Borba states, Lave begun taking s stricter attitude in the
matter of aentcnce= the;/ impose, although qu1tP a number cf unwarrantably mild
sentences are atilt imposed. The arez court in Split recently eantrnced the
works manager oY a dressmaking shop to only ~ months in prison for the theist
of dress material worth x'70,000 dinars. Ali?a Muslin, chief of s warehouse
i.~ Lopara, who..=_+trezzled 135,000 diners, was given caly a suapFnded sentence.
(.'ulpri.ta are often nut Drought to trial immediately, thus aYfo.rd:ng them the
opportunity to c,mmi.t additional c_lxi:al acts. Enterprises do sot report
all lgssec, r? da :.gat ir.;ist oa re..=.tl?.pion being made for losa~a.
Among the morally weak, postwar social conditions and particularly the
rapid induarial3zati;r: of wugoe..Lavin have led. to a ,jai] sentence is losing
=_oms of tb^ c'pprcbrium usualyy attached. to it. ?cllowing the serving or the'
remlasion of the''r sentences, crL?ninals often are too quickly reinstated into
society; the serving of a ,jail sentence deea sot present a serious obstacle
t: their reirntatement. The great number of repetitions of criminal acts can
be attributed to ?his.!2)
Borgia states that the attitude of Fugoslav laxmakers is entirely correct
toward criminals who have nerved their sentences. They should be r^-employed
since it is through work that they can be rehabil'_tated, but it is wrong +,o
re-employ them ir, the same occupations or activities xhere they once violated a
trust.
Trade ur,i.ona and workers ouncils usually have not been informed of
criminal activity. Since some managers have a faxlty understanding of democracy
in as enterprise, they ligntly excuse thefts which occur in their enterprises
and de sot report. them to the unions or councils concerned.
Borba believes that the new method. of administering the means of production
and the new method. of distributing social income will large]y aid workers is
enteprises and cooperatives to become more alert and to fight resolutely
against dispereiou of the people~a property. Thus, the number of criminal acts
o? this nature will be decreased perceptibly.t;3)
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Crima in Belgrade
According to Borba crime has decrease3 in Bel ads since the _irat
years, until sox it ie lees than 0 v Br' ` postxar
1947?(3,1 In 1950, 1,800 thieves andpembezzlers stole moreathan 11945; 1946, cr
dinars, Politika notes. In 1951, the number of 7 million
decreased to 1,451 but the amount etoleh increagedstoe committing such acts
Borba states that cn:rdera for 33,799,011 d.:nars.(4)
and illegal trade have decreeaedriaacl gain have been decreasing, sad speculation
Irmaediate.ly after tha xar, a large aumbomerzapon with the Pleat poatxar years.
small industrial enterprises were private commercial activities and
ccneiderable privately owoed, eo that speculation assumed
speculators w~e~errreat~dd+and ~onvicted~~Withnthzuliquidation oY the private
seotor in industry and coc~ezce, such speculation an3 illegal trade decreased
a great deal.
$owcver, the^t, fraud, and similar crimes ere occurring in great numbers
in state anr: coo~rstiv=_ e_oaomi.c enterprises, 3orba contimies, an? it is this
tYPe of rrime that presents one of the greatest problems 'to law erti orcement
agenct.es and economic ort~nlzation3.
Belgrade also has a large number of petty crimes involving the loss oP
personal property th? solution nP ~:?hich :, fairly difficult. Inv enforcement.
agencies frequently do not k=ep a :eccrd. r.: R`'??y crimes ~ victims fail to
report thefts or do not report them Immediately.
Borba Stresses that the present olose ccoperation betxee~. police and
citizen= is necessery and must be made closer in the future.';?.~
Sentence :?roup .for Misapprcprlati, a Sos.~azi3 y~
A group headed by Branko Ivanovic ~,5;, ?ormer director oP the "Mi.los Msmic++
Compressed Gas a-~d Ghemlcal Products Enterp+iae l51, were sentenced on ~3 p?ay
Yar a series of crimes involving misappropr_atioa and the giving a:d taking
of bribes. Ivarovic was sentenced to 14 year, in the p?aitea.+,iasy and 3 ;,ears.
limitation o.P civil rights after ha completes hi= sentence.
~Br Al?kaandar Jankovic, who misappropriated '(20 kilograms of soap and
then attempted to escapN across the hoxder, was sentenced to 7 years in the
p_aiteatiary and 3 yeare+ limitation of civil rights after he completes his
sentence. Jankovic said that he attempted to escape because he thought society
was agairst him. However, upor. questioning by the public prosecutor he admitted
he had ba=n earning 7,pp0 dinars wont at one time, and later earnea up to
30,000 dir.,ars. ~
Engr Sima Animovic wsa sentenced to 18 months in the penitentiary.
Svetl.siav idzlosevic, who helped steal the soap and then hid it, was sentenced
to ~ years. Mi.lo~~ Sav1c, who bought the stolen goods and speculated is them,
and gave bribes to :I'vancvic and Mirkovic, was sentenced to 9 years 2n the
penitentiary and one. yeara+ limitation of civil rights after completion of
his sentence. Vass Brankov, who shipped 300 kilograms of live to Savic, for
which he receive3 41,000 dinars, was sentenced to 4 years in the penitentiary.
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L~ubomir Mirkovic, commercial director of the Directorate of the Chemical
Industry (Direkci~a hemiske industri~e), was sentenced to 15 months' imprison-
ment for receiving lime. Mechanic Iran Zivkovic was sentenced to 2 years in
,jail, Dfireslav Josipovic to one year, Bczidar Jorgacevic to one year, and
M111~a Babic to 10 months,
All d.efenda.nta received credit for time already served while awaiting
trial.l51
Arz'est Officials of Pancevo Srez Hotel Enterprise
The Commission of the Interior {poverenistvo unutrasn,jih poslova) is
Pancevo arreeted n group of of.ficisla of tl.e Srez Hotel ffiter'priae (Sresko
ugostitel~skA .preduzece) who bad been wantonly plundering the enterprise's
Property.
The group was led by Dusan Sknepnak, head inventory clerk, wha Pugiaeered
the sale oP. beverages Por his own profit. Without authorization, he issued
170 litsry of the enterp_ise's whisky to Marko Zigic, manager. of a hotel in
Starcevo. When the whisky was sold, they divided the proceeds. Danko Bires,
chief bookkeeper of the enterprise, was ar. accomplice is the eP"fair.
Sknepnak and P1res blackmailed Sergl,je Ram,janac, the manager of -. hotel in
Sefkrria, telling nim they would expose a supposed shortage of BO,GiIp dinars
In his acco?.tnts i.f he did not agree to purchase beverages from them.
agreed and bought P0O lit?rs of whisky and 2(X1 liters of w1.'le, the ~anac
which were then divided three ways, proceeds of
Vasa Sicnn, manager of a hotel in Nova F?lo, had an actual shortage of
1+!)0,000 diners vent^h Was not exposed because Sknepnak and Bires covered it up.
Sican wan given beverage3 worth 143,000 dinars so that he could psy back the
ab.ortage nut of his part of the "profits," ,chile Bires ar,d Sknep!lsk received
SE,O0O dinars. At the hearings Bires complained that Slo;epnak haG not "honestly"
divided the proreFd,E from such undertakings.(l.}
Sentence Of.flciels and Members-~ 1 Peop~e_ s~ Co_ ~y _il
l.ter a 5-day trial, the district court in P?.zhx-a+.?y~ on 14 May sentenced
three officials and 13 members of the Municipal FPOple+a Council of Tra,janl.
The officials xere Jaroslav Trailavic, president, Cedomir Mi.laaovlc, secretary,
and Borivo,je Ivanovic.
These 16 members of the council were responsible for 27 thefts slid
malfeasances of duty during the peat 3 years. in addition to thefts in their
.own village, trey ;tole two xsgon: of hay fzom the "Crvena Zvezda" germ Work
Cooperative in Pozarevac and a card of wood from the farm xork cooperative in
Smol~inac. Even the gfpaies, members of a cooperative mill, were not spared
but last 3G knl.BLegTamS of pork, LO kilograms of cheese, 80 kilograms ef'flour,
and other thi
Jarosl.iv T.railovic was sentenced to 10 years is the penitentiary, Cedomir
Milr3novic to 12, and Borivo~e IvunovSc to 13 years, The other defendants were
E!!IItPIICEd. to from 5 months to 4 years in the penitentiary, except for L,jubisav
Milosevic, wha was se+, free because of insufficient evidence.(1)
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Sentence Social Welfare Commission EmplovAe
Jovan Krnjaj, an emoloyee of the Commission .for Social Welfare of the
People's Counril in Zemun Srez, was sentenced by the Zemun Srez Court on
20 Ma;/ for ateaiing and spending the money of minors which had been entrusted
to him for safekeeping. He spent 18,000 dinars belonging to Slobodaaka
Zivanovic, and 39,082 dinars belonging to Slavica Zivanovic, which should
have teen depceited in n sayings accrnint with the People's Bank; an3 4,000
dinar; belonging to minors Air: :a and And;,elka Samardzic.
Because of the gravity o.f his crime, the co.irt sen*_enced Krnjaj tc 5 years
in the penitentiary and ordered him to refvud the stolen money. is a previous
trial, he was sentence3 to 10 months in fail for spending money intended for
chi.ldren's vacatiors.f7)
Sentence Group for Laxge-Seal= '~'h=fts of (.cppFr Wire
tiiloradov c1S1~~ District ~~sruzni) Court, presided over by Judge Dimitrije
pronounced sentence on 30 June nn a group of copper wire thieves
and their accompllces.(8) The wire, destined Por use :.r high-tension trana-
mission lines, was stolen from the "Elektro-Srbija" Sts+.e E:nterpxiae (Drzavno
poduzece "Elektro-Srbija"'), which ~.ad left it unguarded in a ?;el,i in Trstenik.(3}
At least 1,000 people came to hear the sentences imposed., filling the court
chambers, the hallways, and the street outside.(8) The defendants all worked
for the enterprise sad had sold great quantities of the wire at cheap prices
Prom March to Aug,ist ly~l, receiving about 7,4Ci0,000 dinars for it.~jl
Djurdje Borisavljevic, Bogdan Ilic, Mihajlo Mili,jaacvic, and Azir KijevesnLi
were sentenced to death by firing sq.~ad, permanent limitation of civil rights
?privinB hairs of tY.e deceased of certain right;?~, au~i conaiscation of all
their property. Peter Milic, who also participated ir. stealing the wire, was
sentenced tc ltl years in the penitentiary and 3 years' limitation of civil
rights. Mtlan Bjelic was aenteuced to 10 year; in the penitentiary and ore
years' limitation of civil rights; Ivan Vucic?vic, 12 years in the penitentiary
and one years' limitation of civil rights; Markc.7ovanovic, 10 years in the
penitentiti-y and cn;e years' limitatior. of civill rights; Dragosiav ~Tavanovic,
8 years in the pr-nltentisry an3 one years' limitation cf civil rights; and
Nikoia Itracunovic, 6 yearn in the penitentiary and one-years' limitation of
civ:ll 21ght3. The remaining six lefendants received sentences ranging from
i0 months to 2 year, in either jail or the peni.tentiaay. E;;cept for t:
f.irat five, the others did. not participate directly in stealing, but purchased
the wire at chase prices, although they knew that it xas stolen.
All the defendants were ordered to pay the "Elektro-Srbija" Enterprise
dill damages, amounting to more than 25.5 million dinars (8) -- value computed
at cu:?rent prices (3) -- and were ordered to pay court. coats.(8)
Fol.it.ika raised +,he questi.on of whether the negligence ai diiectora of
the enter~a?ise who xere responsible for leaving the wire unguarded for 5 months
should have been overlooked.(j)
Sentence Embezzlers
Mi:iovan Zvankovic, employed by the "Uijarica" 011 Enterprise, which pur-
chases oil-bearing crops, was sentenced to 2 years in the penitentiary for
embezzling 100,000 dinars. Svankevic worked simultaneously in banking and
warehouse ac~ivitiea, which is illegal according to Yugoslav finsnctal laws.f3)
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Momcilo Durovi.c, employed by the "Sumadi,ja"rSrterprise for Office Equipment
(Poduzece za kancelari,jskl materi,jal "Sumadi,ja"), was previously sentenced to
7 months iz the penitentiary for embezzlement. After Durovic had served his
sentence, hP was re-employed by the City Jobbers' Enterprise (Poduzece "Gradska
spedici3a"), where he embezzled a large semi of money. Hecau?e of this, and
because of several burglaries of public property and participation in another
robbery, he was sentenced to 7 years in the penitentiary.(3)
Sentence BurRlare
A group of burglars, who stole from the Belgrade Department Store
(Proilavnica Beograds};i Magazia"1 on Maxim Cork;. lili.ca a total of 700,000
dinars in cash and coupons and two wriet watches, were sentenced by the
Belgrade DSstrLct Court.
Pe tar Tasor,cevic was aentenced to 18 years in the Penitentiary and j
years' limitation of civil. rights; Vlastimir "Bata" Aleksle, student, and
Mtodrag Spa.so,jevi.c, a medical laboratory techni::ian, were sentenced to 16
years in the penitentiary and 2 years' limitation of civil rights. D,jord,je
Popovic was aentenced tc 10 years in the penitentiary area one yearn' limitation
of civil .rights. Sranim!r Simic, a barteoder called "Sumider," wan seaterre'
to 2z yearn 'n, the penitentiary, while bli.los Baata,j, an official of the store,
was acquitted.,91
Sentence Grou of For ere and S .culators After Le Trial
AP ter a 11+-day trial, the Belgrade District Corr! ra. ?1 Mav , nteacc-8 s
group oP forgers end speculators who had caused the gove.rament over ~ mi;.l-i,on
dinars' damage throigi, fraud sad Yorgery. Almost an hour wen needed to
enumerate their cr:~minal acts before tt:< court.
The grou7, organiz.d by Predrng Radoaevl,]evic, made up fall? requisitions
which contained the names' of nonexistent executives seal director;, oa the basis
oY which they prccsred various metal. products at l.ow .prices, sad sold them to
enterprissa end establishments at higher prices. According tc ::~Iftiks, their
cridw_ was considere3 very serious because they had dealt in praduct.s which
were in abort supply at that time, whoa ggrticular attention wan beir.
to issuing them on the 'oas.is of priorities. g Paid.
Radosavl,jevic was aentenced to death by firing sqund and parniar:.ent
limitati.an of civil rights. Slobodan Kandic was sentenced to 18 years in the
penitentiary. Ivan Milosevic was aentenced to life in the penitentiary end
limitation of civil rights. Radomir Ri~tic, former merchant characterized by
'the court ns being a "men from the fo:wer societ;- with Pormer attitudes," who
wns some sort oi'fizancier end celebrity in the group, was sentenced to 14
yearn in the penitentiary and 3 years' limitation of civil rights. 2ivc~in
Na,jdanowic was Sentenced to 6 years in the penitentiary and one years'
limitatior. of civil rights. Drag~l,~ub Sisovic was sentenced to 18 months
and Pcter Rado;avl,jevic to 6 months in the penitentiary,
Radosavljevic, Karmic, Sisovic, and Ristic were ordered to repay same
674,000 dinar, to some of the er_terprises end corporatior_s concerned. The
other ertvrpris