Bangladesh, May 17 -- In a troubling revelation from the heart of the Balkans, a major investigative report has exposed how organized crime syndicates systematically exploited institutional weaknesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina to forge identities and obtain legitimate passports. The scheme, detailed by the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN), shows that dozens of violent criminals linked to the regions most powerful gangs-namely the Kavač and Škaljari clans-used stolen identities, corrupt insiders, and systemic flaws to operate under false names for nearly a decade.

Between 2013 and 2022, at least 60 members of these criminal groups successfully obtained Bosnian passports under fraudulent identities. These documents enable...