How a Cracked Phone App Upended a Crime-Ridden Balkan State

The use of an encrypted phone app by narco-traffickers in Western Europe was cracked by police forces, revealing shocking evidence of organized crime in Montenegro. Messages between a Montenegrin police officer and a notorious crime boss discussing cocaine shipments, and the son of the head of the country’s supreme court offering to skew verdicts and assist with smuggling, were among the evidence gathered. The messages also uncovered corruption in the country’s institutions, leading to the fall of Milo Djukanovic, Europe’s longest-serving elected leader, in April this year. Djukanovic had always denied collusion with criminals.

Jakov Milatovic, Djukanovic’s successor, who assumed office as president in Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital, in April, has pledged to clean up the judiciary and police force, appoint a new central bank governor, and end state corruption enforced by criminals. Despite these pledges, his efforts will be largely determined by whether parliamentary elections in June confirm Djukanovic’s political eclipse.

Montenegro’s long-standing corruption had been an open secret among European diplomats for years, but the United States, which was focused on getting the country to join NATO, had little interest in intervening. Until police infiltrated messaging app Sky ECC, which shut down after its executives were indicted by the United States for racketeering in 2021, there was scant evidence of collusion with criminals.

The decrypted messages sent to prosecutors in Podgorica only resulted in action after they were leaked to local media last year. Arrests of people appointed during Djukanovic’s rule, including the long-time head of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica, and her son, Milos, were sanctioned following the leaks. Djukanovic has denied the rumors of his links with organized crime, dismissing them as disinformation generated by Serbia and Russia, both of which supported his departure due to his NATO affiliation.

The new government has targeted businesses associated with Djukanovic’s allies, cutting off state company revenues. Supporters of Montenegro’s break from Djukanovic saw this as a draining of the swamp, but Djukanovic and his supporters view it as a victory for Serbia and Russia and‌ a politically driven redivision of the spoils. Djukanovic was accused almost 20 years ago of running a cigarette smuggling scheme by Italian prosecutors but avoided prosecution after he steered Montenegro to independence from Serbia in 2006, despite rumors of his links to organized crime.