Jens Lapidus - Easy Money

Since the summer of last year, the Surveillance Group has, with increased efforts, tracked a number of persons who belong to the so-called Yugoslavian Mafia (referred to below as the Organization). The members of the Organization are suspicious of new people, which is why the Organization is difficult to infiltrate. This is largely due to the Organization’s ethnic homogeneity. The upper levels of the hierarchy solely consist of men between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-five, all born, or with both parents born, in the former Yugoslavia, today Serbia-Montenegro. There are few so-called rats who are ready to provide information about the Organization because of its members’ well-documented history of violence. The Organization has become famous for following through on threats, and several incidents of serious violent crimes over recent years can be tied to it and its related groups. See reports 2-4. Wiretapping or other bugging is often unsuccessful, since the people within the Organization search the places where they spend time as well as use prepaid phone cards that are frequently switched out.

Since three months back, the Surveillance Group has suspected that the Organization is preparing itself and its business to face the threat posed by Project Nova.

The Business of the Organization

There are suspicions in regard to the following criminal activities: alcohol and cigarette smuggling, sex trafficking, procuring, and pandering, blackmail, and racketeering, as well as freight frauds and freight theft.

Actors

Radovan Kranjic:The Organization’s leader is the Swedish citizen Radovan Kranjic (also known as Rado, Mr. R., and the Yugo boss), born in 1960 at an unknown location in the former Yugoslavia, now Serbia-Montenegro. He came to Sweden in 1978, seeking employment.

Among other things, Kranjic has previously worked as a bouncer and a bodyguard. Today, he owns and runs a restaurant, Clara’s Kitchen & Bar, Ltd. (Organization number 556542-2353), in central Stockholm. He reported an income from the company as well as from certain shares in Diamond Catering, Ltd. (Organization number 556554-2234), a total of 321,000 kronor for the past fiscal year.

Kranjic has previously been convicted of the following. 1982: assault, minor. 1985: illegal threats, assault, illegal weapons possession, speeding (served eight months in prison). 1989: illegal threats, tax fraud, illegal weapons possession (served four months in prison). Since 1990, Kranjic has not been reported for any crimes or misdemeanors.

Kranjic is married to Nadja Kranjic, with whom he has one child. Kranjic is believed to have participated in the war in the former Yugoslavia, 1993-1995, during which time he was not in Sweden for long stretches of time. He is said to have good connections within segments of the Serbian Nationalist Movement, among them Zeljko Raznatovic, better known as “Arkan,” whose private paramilitary army, the Tigers, led ethnic cleansing actions in Kosovo 1992-1995. During the later part of the 1990s, he was the number two in the Organization in Stockholm and was primarily responsible for the racketeering and cocaine businesses. Kranjic is also believed to have started the sex trafficking, procuring, and pandering business during this time.

Mrado Slovovic:He is Radovan Kranjic’s direct subordinate. Slovovic, who is a Swedish citizen born in 1967, came to Sweden in 1970 from the former Yugoslavia. He has previously worked as a bouncer and with the import of Thai wood products. He trains in so-called bodybuilding and combat sports.

Slovovic reported an income of 136,000 kronor for the past fiscal year, profits derived from his wood-importing business as well as from gambling.

He has previously been convicted for the following. 1987: driving under the influence. 1988: aggravated assault, illegal weapons possession, and illegal drug possession, minor (served one year in prison). 1995: breaking and entering, robbery, and resisting arrest (served twenty-four months in prison). 2001: illegal threats. Since 2001, he has not been reported for any crimes or misdemeanors. Slovovic was most recently prosecuted for aggravated assault of a bouncer at restaurant Kvarnen in Stockholm. Charges against Slovovic were dropped on appeal. The other defendant, X, was sentenced to three years in prison for aggravated assault. X is believed to be one of Slovovic’s so-called lackeys and has worked with him within the Organization’s coat-check racketeering business. Furthermore, Slovovic is currently involved in a custody battle with his former wife, Annika Sjöberg, regarding the care of their daughter, Lovisa.

Slovovic is believed to have been a member of the so-called Tigers, during their attack on Srebrenica in 1995. Slovovic is very violent and has, other than the incident at Kvarnen, without a doubt committed a great number of acts that would be classified as aggravated assault if he were forced to stand trial for them. Among other things, the Norrmalm police’s Drug Unit has tried to infiltrate a group of so-called bodybuilders at the Fitness Club gym on Sveavägen in Stockholm, which serves as a recruiting base for crime. The police infiltrator (Y) was, on August 18 of last year, gravely assaulted by Slovovic, who used free weights from the gym as well as threatened him with a gun. Y does not believe that Slovovic suspected his connection with the police, but that the assault was done as an “exhibit of power” by Slovovic.

Slovovic is responsible for the Organization’s protection racketeering business as well as other acts of blackmail and threats. The protection-racketeering business is directed primarily against restaurants and bars in the Stockholm area, but also against other business owners who appear to exist in a legal “gray zone.”

Stefanovic Rudjman:He is Kranjic’s nephew and his and his family’s private bodyguard. Born in Sweden in 1977. He has previously been enrolled at Stockholm University, where his studies have included law and economics. He did not complete a degree in either subject. He has previously been active as an accountant at the accounting firm Rusta Ekonomi, Ltd. (Organization number: 556743-3389).

He reported an income of 859,000 kronor for the past fiscal year, income that mainly originates from interest on stocks and other assets.

The Surveillance Group suspects that Rudjman runs a money-laundering business for, among others, Kranjic. Rudjman has not been convicted of any crime except for a number of traffic offenses since 2000. He is unmarried. Rudjman is also believed to handle Kranjic’s investments. Rudjman has, among other things, invested large sums in real estate development projects in the Belgrade area.

Internal Conflicts

The Surveillance Group has gathered information regarding internal conflicts within the Organization. The Organization is well aware of Project Nova and is preparing itself to face the police’s efforts. Its leadership is planning to divide the market for certain types of criminal activity in order to avoid insider competition. The method proved effective during the so-called cease-fire between the motorcycle gangs Bandidos and Hells Angels. The Surveillance Group believes that Mrado Slovovic and Stefanovic Rudjman have been entrusted with the job of researching and planning as well as implementing such a division of the market. Slovovic has been in touch with a number of other criminal networks and organizations. He is very difficult to keep under surveillance since he often changes phone carriers. What’s more, there is no permit for further surveillance efforts. It is probable that he is planning to meet with more of Stockholm’s criminal gangs in the near future. Certain internal conflicts exist within the Organization in regards to the attempts to divide the market.