The week, including: COVID/delta news; Russia, Belarus and Zapad 2021; a Bulgarian trafficker arrested; the Czechs nab mystery man; Prince Charles' Latvian woes; Polish narco/real estate busts; Ukraine wants Bitcoin and more...

Yes, after a two-week hiatus (sorry, but sometimes your man in the field has to  be... erm in the field) Two Steps East is back with your favorite consulting detective and the following topics: letters (and thanks for writing in); just how safe is your neighborhood (specifically Warsaw, but this generally applies to major cities in the region) anyway--and the dangers posed by low-level crime, not to mention the stark reality of poor media coverage and a dramatic (and frighteningly huge) child pornography bust in Poland; how Swiss bankers managed to overlook a red-flag Balkan narco mobster--and the KYC questions surrounding the UK's Companies House registry; another edition of "WT_ is going in the Balkans," which notes the jumble (and irony) of politics in the region, the Serbian-Kosovo (and more) question, which is currently spurred by the ongoing Kosovo license plate row; more on the Polish Sowa tape scandal that never seems to entirely go away and finally... 

A whole lot more in between. 

Enjoy, be safe, and check out the links below (which is a partial response to a letter). 

Feel free to also check out www.cddi.pl if you need risk intelligence or detective services in the region, and there under the contact info you will find a mail if you would like to send in comments. 

First the Guardian article (kudos for the great work): 

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/oct/06/cartel-journalist-gangland-killings-netherlands-peter-r-de-vries

An article on Kotor from BIRN: 

https://balkaninsight.com/2022/10/26/drug-crime-casts-long-shadow-over-montenegrin-coast/

 Finally, the new Czech crime site, which documents "crime in your neighborhood"--quite a cool thing. Hope it lasts: 

https://kriminalita.policie.cz/

By listener request: this week Two Steps East (lite) and your preferred consulting detective in CEE, P. Konrad Smith, run through the "real" scams that hit tourists in the region as well as "new-kid-on-the-block scams," which seem to nag foreigners (and not only) again and again. These include the "toss-the-baby" scam; the bracelet scam; taxis and ambulance risks;  the menu flip; card skimming (and what to do about it); strange links and why people open them; social engineering/nephew/niece scams (and how they have become more dangerous); the bankomat/cash machine-strip bar scam (and the second level to this, which is really quite something); skimmer scams (and a simple way to stop them); the child-custody-strategy scam (yes, I called it that); inheritance preparation scams and more. 

In this episode Your Preferred Consulting Detective in CEE covers low-level gangster crime returning to the region (currency exchange hits and more); more on MEK in Albania; the death of a Polish arms smuggler in Albania (and how he ripped off the Polish government); slander (maybe) against the KLA; a tale of the KLA, flat tires and pizza; Bulgarian denials and stress over the Kherson bridge bombing;  a convicted Romanian banker sues his bank; the Dodik factor in BiH; Serbia between a rock and a hard place (i.e. pressure from the EU, the US and Russia); the Balkan cocaine trade and the arrest and trial of Darko S. and the Sky App convictions; more on the Kinahan-Hutch war and Imre A. the assassin--and Lithuanian's muddled attempt to have him extradited; Johnny M., the Kinahans and boxing and the mess that it amateur boxing and the actual past connections to the Russian vory. 

Happy listening and have a great day!

[Soundtracks copyright Preston Smith/Marek Tymkoff (Bone Music/The Ohm Song). 

This week's Two Steps East podcast packs a lot into multiple punches, with a quick run through of Latvian, Bosnia and coming Bulgarian elections; breakthroughs and arrests in Peter de Vries murders case (with possible ties to a cocaine super cartel (featuring alleged ties to the he Moko gang, Tito and Dino, Camorra and the Kinahans); the murders behind the de Vries killing (more than a score, in fact); the arrest of money-laundering kingpin Johnny M. (featuring alleged ties to the Kinahans); the new "what the ___ is going on in the Balkans?" segment, noting spy rings in Montenegro, Serbian-EU-Russian dilemmas, as well as the Albania vs. Iran cyber-war (against the background of the war in Ukraine). And finally, in a leap back to the arrest of said money-laundering kingpin there is a bit of boxing discussion (featuring, yes, you guessed it, alleged ties to the Kinahans). 

And letters to Yours Truly coming soon so don't forget to write. 

Greetings and salutations! In this episode your favorite consulting detective (in Central Europe) finds himself reeling from Russia's spur of the moment partial (or is it full?) mobilization; the nuclear threat and more. Plus we'll get into the rock-and-a-hard-place position of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, as well as the irony of his arguments to refuse to recognize Kosovo and the tightrope he must walk between Russia and the EU (and the US).  Also in this edition we'll briefly note the arrest of yet another fugitive associated with the Kinahan crime gang, rampant money laundering and yes, the chronic suicides of Russian oligarchs. 

Just a bit of a darkness for your weekend, but don't stress. There is much more to come. 

Yes, it's the return of Two Steps East and your No. 1 consulting detective in Central Europe, P. Konrad Smith, and let's just say this episode starts and ends with a bang--that is with the assassination in Istanbul this week of Montenegrin Skaljari crime boss Jovan V.  The killing, which took place  the context of not only a long running (and bloody) war with the rival Kavac gang, but also within that of cocaine trafficking, politics (notably in Serbia)  provokes a number of key questions, including: just what happens next?

For this is a mob war that has lasted more than six years, has seen some 40 hits in capitals across Europe, and which--until the murder of Jovan V. --showed no signs of abating. And the spoils are titanic, with the combined efforts of the Skaljari and Kavac mobs likely controlling at least one-third of a EUR 10 bln-plus illicit market that is increasing by the day.

[Intro and outro riff courtesy of Hoodoohat/Preston Smith/Marek Tymkoff (Bonemusic). Background music courtesy of Hoodoohat/Preston Smith/Marek Tymkoff (the Ohm Song). All rights reserved.]

 In a special Two Steps East series, CEE private detective/risk intelligence expert and investigator Preston Smith examines the history of the Thieves-in-Law/Vory v Zakone crime groups and how Russian spy games, modern organized crime a North Ossetian murder gang and an NGO all became entwined in one of the largest money-laundering schemes ever--and how they came under the eye of Spanish police and Polish authorities both.

In this episode the ring of mafia players, including Niall M., Aslan G. and Tambovskaya mob leader Gennady P., Niall M. is bought to justice by Spanish, Russian and Austrian law enforcement despite the lobbying of a mysterious NGO based in Poland--an NGO whose track record is questionable and whose leaders have themselves run afoul, controversially, with the law while also pushing for the ouster of the current, equally controversial government.

(Bonemusic [intro and outro] copyright Preston Smith and Marek Tymkoff)

 In a special Two Steps East series, CEE private detective/risk intelligence expert and investigator Preston Smith examines the history of the Thieves-in-Law/Vory v Zakone crime groups and how Russian spy games, modern organized crime a North Ossetian murder gang and an NGO all became entwined in one of the largest money-laundering schemes ever--and how they came under the eye of Spanish police and Polish authorities both.

In this episode we introduce the infamous Aslan G.--i.e. Big Brother--and this gang, the Family, which allegedly committed some 50-60 murders in Moscow and the North Ossettia region. But was he a vor? And was this gang simply a mafia group--or were they vigilantes or possibly an arm of the secret services? Or maybe all three? We also discuss operation Troika, run by Spanish police, alleged links between Tambovskaya mob leader Gennady P., Niall M., an attempted takeover of German ports (and Aslan G.) and more. 

And this is only part two. 

(Bonemusic [intro and outro] copyright Preston Smith and Marek Tymkoff)

In a special Two Steps East series, CEE private detective/risk intelligence expert and investigator Preston Smith examines the history of the Thieves-in-Law/Vory v Zakone crime groups and how Russian spy games, modern organized crime a North Ossetian murder gang and an NGO all became entwined in one of the largest money-laundering schemes ever--and how they came under the eye of Spanish police and Polish authorities both. 

In this introduction episode: a brief history of the Vory, their evolution move west and the rise of more "modern" Russian crime gangs such as the Tambovskaya or more infamous Solntcevskaya Bratva. 

(Bonemusic [intro and outro] copyright Preston Smith and Marek Tymkoff)

Yes, we promised we'd catch up, and here is this week's Two Steps East rundown of the region (and a wild week it was), including the following: the COVID delta variant smacks the Balkans and Ukraine and begins to make its presence felt in the CEE core countries; Belarus and Russia get still more "integrated" during Zapad-2021 military exercises--and the IMF rethinks a loan; Bulgaria sets a date for both parliamentary and presidential elections--and a cocaine smuggler is busted; the Czechs nab a mysterious Russian for Crimea war activities; Prince Charles undergoes scrutiny for ties to an alleged crooked (and failed) banker sentenced (in absentia) in Latvia; the Polish government backtracks on Polexit, gets blocked over Lex-TVN and fiddles with tax reform ; Polish CBSP bust a narcotics gang and a major prostitution rings but another gang walks; Polish anti-corruption police bust a Krakow city player over endless questionable real estate permissions; Ukraine-American politics are still sticky when it comes to Giuliani; the judge in the investigation into the killing of journalist Pavel Sheremet is allegedly murdered... and more. 

Intro and outro music (Bone Music) copyright Preston Smith and Marek Tymkoff.