UK Sanctions Balkan Gangs After Passport Fraud Reveal

The U.K. imposed its first global sanctions targeting human traffickers and smuggling networks, designating individuals and facilitators tied to Balkan gangs—especially the Kavač and Škaljari groups—who allegedly procured forged documents and exploited stolen identities to obtain genuine Bosnian passports. Stemming from CIN’s investigation, the report outlines how criminals accessed legacy databases to identify unused identities, fabricated supporting documents, and rapidly secured official IDs, enabling activities from drug trafficking to contract killings. The measures include asset freezes and travel bans, and highlight the broader security implications of document fraud and corruption across the Balkans and Europe.