Operation Black Tie exposes the interface between upperworld and underworld in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The encrypted communication platform Sky ECC was once considered by criminals and their accomplices as a safe way to communicate and exchange sensitive information. However, the de-encryption of the app by police in 2021, a year after the successful unlocking of EncroChat, has shed light on the operations of criminal networks around the world.¹ The uncovered communications have led to a series of revelations about major criminal figures from Bosnia and Herzegovina ­– such as the head of the Tito and Dino cartel, Edin Gačanin ­– and their links to the worlds of business, politics and the security sector.²

Gačanin, a native of Sarajevo with dual Bosnian and Dutch citizenship, was arrested in Dubai in November 2022 on charges of drug trafficking, for which he was sentenced to seven years in prison.³ Dubbed the ‘European Escobar’ by US authorities, Gačanin is widely considered to be one of the world’s most prolific drug traffickers.⁴ He is notorious for trafficking drugs across several continents as well as money laundering, and the US Department of the Treasury has claimed that his network is closely linked to the powerful Kinahan organized crime group from Ireland.⁵ According to Bosnian news outlet Fokus.ba, quoting a state prosecutor, information harvested from the Sky ECC app shows that the cartel operated in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the UAE, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, South America and South Africa.⁶ Gačanin is allegedly living in the UAE, from where, European authorities believe, he continues to direct operations despite the prison sentence awaiting him in the Netherlands.⁷

In April 2024, the Sarajevo interior ministry teamed up with Europol, the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to carry out an operation into Gačanin’s affairs code-named ‘Black Tie’.⁸ The operation resulted in the arrest of 23 people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the freezing of assets worth more than €350 000 and the seizure of firearms, expensive watches and luxury cars.⁹

Bosnia’s State Investigation and Protection Agency has targeted suspected associates of cartel leader Edin Gačanin as part of Operation Black Tie.

Photo: State Investigation and Protection Agency

By June 2024, the Bosnian public prosecutor’s office had secured indictments against more than 70 people in various cases supported by evidence from the Sky and Anom apps, according to the chief prosecutor, as reported by Dnevni avaz.¹⁰ While Gačanin and his Dino and Tito cartel are well known in the world of drug trafficking, information from Operation Black Tie has revealed details of how the network operated and who protected and facilitated its activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These details have emerged from court hearings in this specific case released to the public through statements made by the prosecutor at hearings and during press conferences.¹¹ Although the original documentation is not available to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, the allegations against various alleged members of the cartel have been widely reported on in various media and attributed to the prosecution. The following section deals with some of the information that has been reported in the media. It should be noted that, in many cases, criminal prosecutions are ongoing and acquittals for some of the people identified remain possible.

Facilitators across a wide range of professions

The network invested its profits in businesses, projects and political careers. This enabled the criminal group to hide its money while at the same time increasing its patronage and influence.

The most serious revelation from Operation Black Tie is that Gačanin’s cartel seemingly tried to buy protection from state-embedded actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the 23 people arrested on suspicion of having links to the Tito and Dino clan are employees of the Federal Police Unit and the Intelligence-Security Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who were charged with handing over documents to the cartel without authorization.¹² Another official is accused of allowing three special agents to safeguard Gačanin’s activities in exchange for a Rolex watch.¹³

It has also been alleged that investigations into criminals using the Sky app were obstructed by a senior official in the state prosecutor’s office. Diana Kajmaković, the deputy chief prosecutor previously leading the team on Sky app cases, was designated by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in September 2022 for corruption and undermining democratic processes in the Western Balkans.¹⁴ In February 2024, Kajmaković was found guilty of using her position to obtain unjustified personal benefits, according to the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina.¹⁵

Radio Sarajevo has reported that, ahead of the 2020 Bosnian municipal elections, Gačanin sent a message on the app saying, ‘No matter who wins politically, we win, because we have people everywhere.’¹⁶ The message, which was quoted in the prosecutor’s statement, illustrates the extent of the cartel’s political connections. Members of his network are even alleged to have discussed having a close associate of a state minister on their payroll.¹⁷

Media reports about the case reveal a wide range of actors from both the private and public sectors who were drawn into the cartel’s web. An interesting aspect of Gačanin’s apparent recruitment strategy was his selection of individuals who enjoyed the public’s trust and would never have been suspected of criminal activity, such as athletes, young politicians and activists.

As reported by local news portal Klix.ba, the public prosecutor’s office revealed during the second court hearing in the ‘Black Tie 2’ case that a criminal network was allegedly formed between 2016 and 2021 to launder drug proceeds generated by the Tito and Dino cartel.¹⁸ The prosecutor contends that the network was led by Adnan Smajlović, nicknamed Verstappen on the Sky app, who allegedly operated under Gačanin’s instructions.¹⁹ The prosecution alleges that in 2020, Smajlović was entrusted with paying cartel members and accomplices from a sum of €255 000 cash held in Sarajevo. Smajlovic has denied his involvement, but is in custody and the trial is ongoing.²⁰ A second amount used for cash payments was allegedly held in the Netherlands and managed by Husmir Gabeljić, whom the prosecutor has accused of involvement in money laundering and being a member of criminal group. The two ‘treasurers’ were reportedly required to keep detailed accounts of the money paid out and report back to Gačanin.²¹

Another person who is alleged by the prosecution to have received money from Smajlović is Aida Halać, a gym owner and cantonal hospital employee in Zenica.²² Prosecutorial information from hearings, as quoted by Faktor, allegedes that Halać went by the nickname Griselda on the Sky app, after the prominent Colombian drug trafficker.²³ Smajlović allegedly gave Halać more than €15 000 to renovate her gym, and covered the expense of her helicopter pilot’s licence with the intention of her being able to transport Gačanin.²⁴ She is also accused of receiving money for her campaign to become a member of the city council of Zenica, which was successful.²⁵ In return, as the decrypted communications have revealed, she pledged unwavering loyalty to Gačanin, even reportedly saying that she would be willing to kill for him.²⁶ According to reporting from Dnevni avaz, in exchange for her allegiance, Gačanin swore to eventually make Halać the first women mayor of Zenica.²⁷ Halać allegedly played an important role for Gačanin in his money laundering operations, particularly through real-estate purchases. This is thought to have been made possible with the assistance of her close friend, the director of a bank who, according to Hercegovina.info, facilitated the integration of the illicit funds into the financial system.²⁸ Halać has been accused of being part of organized criminal group and is currently in custody. She has denied the allegations against her.²⁹

Adna Helić, a well-known social media influencer and owner of a spa and beauty business, is also suspected of having received money from Smajlović and of having helped launder illicit proceeds from drug trafficking, according to correspondence reported on by Klix.ba.³⁰ Klix.ba has also reported that, according to statements made in the court hearing by the public prosecutor, Helić is also accused of having transported €200 000 in cash from Dubai to Bosnia and Herzegovina on behalf of the cartel, charging 6%–7% commission for her services, which she allegedly used to invest in her businesses in Sarajevo.³¹ Helić has denied the allegations and been released.³²

Besides accomplices in the security sector and the private sector, it appears that civil society was also implicated in money laundering. Fokus.ba has reported that, according to the public prosecutor’s case presented at a court hearing, the Tito and Dino cartel had an interest in founding civil society organizations to influence local politics, for example, through funding community projects and influencing local media, even planning to buy some media outlets.³³

Another co-accused in the Black Tie case is businessman Sančez Jukić, who has been exposed through Sky app messages as one of Gačanin’s alleged accomplices. According to reporting by Klix.ba, Sky app messages reveal that Jukić allegedly received more than €25 000 from Smajlović.³⁴ The news outlet notes that Jukic has been accused of international cocaine trafficking in large amounts but has denied all accusations.³⁵ He was allegedly instructed by Gačanin to travel to Durban, South Africa, for a project known as Satwa, which is believed to have involved him handling logistical tasks such as receiving containers of cocaine from Peru and Colombia, and establishing a local server for a communications app named Circle, which the group planned to launch as an alternative to Sky.³⁶

According to the prosecutor’s case, as cited by Klix.ba, IT expert Boško Jerković was tasked with setting up the new secure system for communication to help eliminate the group’s reliance on the Sky app.³⁷ Jerković, who reportedly maintained direct contact with Gačanin, was allegedly responsible for distributing 14 servers across 12 locations in Dubai and Bosnia and Herzegovina to create a private cloud for secure communications.³⁸ He was also allegedly tasked with recruiting new cartel members with IT and programming skills.³⁹ If the criminal network had indeed launched its secure platform as planned, it would have been extremely difficult for law enforcement to infiltrate.

While Gačanin remains at large, Operation Black Tie has succeeded in disrupting some of the criminal activities of the Tito and Dino cartel, exposing the interface between the underworld and the upperworld of business and politics. Reducing the influence of organized crime in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other parts of the Western Balkans will require not only improved law enforcement and the kind of international cooperation that made this operation possible, but also addressing the enabling factors that have created an ecosystem that is fertile for organized crime. This includes strengthening integrity and anti-corruption measures, reducing illicit financial flows, monitoring political party funding, and increasing vigilance in public institutions against the potential infiltration of criminal actors and illicit economies.

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