Crypto Playing ‘Growing Role’ in Crime Across Western Balkans: NGO
By: cryptonews|2025/05/15 12:45:04
0
Share
Criminals are making increasing use of cryptocurrency in Western Balkan nations such as Albania and Serbia, according to research from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC). Writing in one of two new risk bulletins for this month, the Geneva-based NGO found that seizing illicitly sourced crypto remains a big challenge in the Balkans, with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia home to “only three documented cases of crypto asset seizures” to date. The bulletin explained that the illegal use of crypto has grown in tandem with more legitimate uses, as transaction volumes in the region sit somewhere between $25 billion and $30 billion. It’s in this context that Montenegro has become a major European node for the use of crypto on darknet marketplaces, while using crypto to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking has grown in recent years in Albania and Serbia, as per an earlier GI-TOC bulletin from December. Sasa Djordjevic, GI-TOC’s senior analyst for the Western Balkans, told Decrypt that cryptocurrencies are “playing a growing role in criminal activity in the Western Balkans,” with the region also seeing a growth in use for fraud and illegal crypto-mining. “Drug trafficking groups are increasingly using crypto to move and hide their profits,” he said. “Some suspicious transactions linked to criminal networks from the Western Balkans are worth tens of millions of euros, often routed through crypto wallets and reinvested into legal businesses.” Djordjevic also notes that such patterns tend to mirror known cocaine trafficking routes from Latin America to Europe, while GI-TOC has observed connections between criminal actors in the Western Balkans and darknet markets such as Hydra, prior to its shutdown in 2022. A growing problem GI-TOC’s latest bulletin suggests that illicit usage will continue growing in the region, given that local authorities are struggling to keep up with such usage in terms of regulations, technical expertise and cross-border cooperation. “Currently, only three out of six Western Balkan countries have adopted laws on digital assets, and implementation has yet to begin in one of them,” explained Djordjevic. The three countries Djordjevic is referring to here are Albania, Serbia and Kosovo, the latter of which introduced cryptocurrency legislation in November—but the bylaws necessary for implementation have not yet been adopted. “Although the EU’s MiCA regulation offers a path toward stronger oversight, full and consistent implementation across the region remains challenging, as the Western Balkans are not yet part of the EU,” he added. “Until regulatory and enforcement capacities are strengthened, the region will remain vulnerable to illicit crypto activity.” As mentioned above, the Western Balkans has only three documented cases of crypto seizure, all of which occurred in the last couple of years. The most recent of these involved the seizure of assets belonging to an Albanian crime syndicate, which was the target of an operation between November 2024 and January 2025. Working in conjunction with an unidentified stablecoin operator and a major crypto-exchange, forces from Albania, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Europol seized the gang’s cash, bank accounts and other property, including hardware wallets containing $10 million in cryptocurrencies. Playing catch-up However, such examples are still few and far between, and for Djordjevic and GI-TOC, the situation won’t improve until the region’s authorities catch up with the pace of change. This not only means that governments should “adopt and enforce clear regulations” for tracing and seizing illicit crypto, but that law enforcement must “invest in advanced blockchain tools” and specialized training. “Implementing FATF recommendations and EU rules on crypto remains key, particularly for countries previously on the FATF grey list,” Djordjevic said, adding that closer cooperation with Europol, Interpol and other national agencies is also a necessity.
You may also like
340 billion valuation: Li Yanhong's largest IPO, a seat in Kunlunxin's shares is hard to come by
As a core asset in Baidu's AI landscape, Kunlun Chip is expected to exceed Baidu's market value after going public, becoming an important bargaining chip in its turnaround battle.
Stablecoins are the "royalists" of the crypto world: Open USD brings the old currency system into play
The emergence of Open USD has shifted the competition for stablecoins from the market struggle of crypto startups to a battle for infrastructure involving traditional finance, payment networks, technology platforms, and public chain ecosystems.
Semiconductor stocks plummet, yet Anthropic wants to create a 2nm chip
Abandoning TSMC and teaming up with Samsung. Anthropic launches a self-developed 2nm chip program, challenging Nvidia and starting a battle to break through computing power costs.
Where is Zhao Changpeng's billion-dollar investment going? YZi Labs' investment landscape fully revealed
Zhao Changpeng's billion-dollar new "family office" YZi Labs investment landscape revealed: 70% of the funds are committed to the crypto ecosystem, while 30% are cross-industry bets on AI and biotechnology, launching a new capital experiment in the post-Binance era.
Ethereum Foundation Report: A Basic Guide to Ethereum for Governments and Financial Institutions
The Ethereum Foundation has released this non-technical introductory report aimed at government officials, central banks, regulators, and corporate decision-makers, explaining how Ethereum works, how it is governed, how it differs from other blockchains, and how institutions and governments are alre...
A pre-announced harvesting case: After the cryptocurrency price dropped by 99%, the public chain Saga exited to transform into AI
True failure often isn't a single price drop, but rather a pricing mechanism that repeatedly rewards those who tell stories while repeatedly punishing those who believe in the stories.
When American giants collectively "defect" from Chinese AI models
Coinbase CEO publicly stated: the company has fully switched its AI to a Chinese model, cutting expenses in half while usage has doubled. Snowflake and Lindy are also doing the same thing—an unnoticed "AI model migration wave" is happening.
BIS Report Compliance Observation: The Real Risks of Stablecoins, Not Just "Depegging"
The issue with stablecoins is not just whether their price will decouple, but whether they can be integrated into a recognizable, monitorable, accountable, and regulated financial system.
Portugal 2-1 Croatia: Ronaldo's 20-Year Knockout-Stage Drought Ends With a Debt Finally Collected
Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the 2026 global football championship's knockout rounds as Ronaldo scored his first-ever knockout-stage goal, Gonçalo Ramos struck a stoppage-time winner, and VAR ruled out a late equalizer for offside.
Bitcoin Price Prediction July 2026: Will BTC Recover to $70K or Drop Below $55K?
Bitcoin price prediction for July 2026: Can BTC recover to $70,000 or fall below $55,000? Explore ETF flows, key support levels, Fed outlook, and our Bitcoin forecast.
A South Korean company that learned the strategy of hoarding coins, from a bull market to delisting?
When the overall momentum of the Korean stock market is strong, this batch of cryptocurrency concept stocks, branded as the "Korean version of Strategy," finds itself at a crossroads of life and death.
WEEX API Broker Program: Turn Your Trading Platform Into a Revenue Engine
Become a WEEX API Broker and earn up to 70% trading fee sharing. Get institutional-grade liquidity, OAuth Fast Connect, and a 4-5 day integration for your AI trading platform, bot, or signal community.
How to choose between buying discounted ETH, Bitmine, and SharpLink?
The answer may not lie in whose story is told better, but in specific dimensions such as cost of holding, financing ability, liquidity, and whether the narrative can be realized.
Wosh: Inflation has cooled in recent weeks, AI is reshaping the economy, and forward guidance has lost its necessity
Federal Reserve Chairman Waller clearly stated at the ECB forum that the Fed will abandon forward guidance on interest rates, with future decisions relying entirely on real-time economic data. He noted that inflation risks in the U.S. have decreased over the past four weeks, but the ultimate impact ...
From Pump.fun to Collector Crypt: Has Solana's income throne changed hands?
The revenue from consumer applications on Solana is no longer solely reliant on meme coin issuance, but is gradually spreading to more consumption scenarios.
Dan Bin's latest speech: Don't miss out on a great era
Don't let hesitation trap your steps, and don't let shortsightedness waste the passing years—make sure not to miss this magnificent era that belongs to us.
Robinhood launches its own blockchain, no longer wanting to be a tenant on others' chains
While laying off employees and issuing bonds, it is the predictive market business that temporarily supports the income.
Why Tokenized Stocks Are Booming in 2026 While Crypto Is Still Struggling
Why are tokenized stocks booming while the crypto market struggles? Explore the latest 2026 data, institutional adoption, and what it means for traders.
340 billion valuation: Li Yanhong's largest IPO, a seat in Kunlunxin's shares is hard to come by
As a core asset in Baidu's AI landscape, Kunlun Chip is expected to exceed Baidu's market value after going public, becoming an important bargaining chip in its turnaround battle.
Stablecoins are the "royalists" of the crypto world: Open USD brings the old currency system into play
The emergence of Open USD has shifted the competition for stablecoins from the market struggle of crypto startups to a battle for infrastructure involving traditional finance, payment networks, technology platforms, and public chain ecosystems.
Semiconductor stocks plummet, yet Anthropic wants to create a 2nm chip
Abandoning TSMC and teaming up with Samsung. Anthropic launches a self-developed 2nm chip program, challenging Nvidia and starting a battle to break through computing power costs.
Where is Zhao Changpeng's billion-dollar investment going? YZi Labs' investment landscape fully revealed
Zhao Changpeng's billion-dollar new "family office" YZi Labs investment landscape revealed: 70% of the funds are committed to the crypto ecosystem, while 30% are cross-industry bets on AI and biotechnology, launching a new capital experiment in the post-Binance era.
Ethereum Foundation Report: A Basic Guide to Ethereum for Governments and Financial Institutions
The Ethereum Foundation has released this non-technical introductory report aimed at government officials, central banks, regulators, and corporate decision-makers, explaining how Ethereum works, how it is governed, how it differs from other blockchains, and how institutions and governments are alre...
A pre-announced harvesting case: After the cryptocurrency price dropped by 99%, the public chain Saga exited to transform into AI
True failure often isn't a single price drop, but rather a pricing mechanism that repeatedly rewards those who tell stories while repeatedly punishing those who believe in the stories.
Customer Support:@weikecs
Business Cooperation:@weikecs
Quant Trading & MM:bd@weex.com
VIP Program:support@weex.com
