NCOZ: Foreign criminal groups increasingly seek Czech residency

The newly released annual report of the National Centre against Organized Crime (NCOZ) shows an uptick in efforts by foreign criminal groups to obtain legal residency in the Czech Republic. Most are from Russian-speaking countries, it states, while applications in 2020 from Asian countries dropped.

Members of organized crime groups from abroad try to settle in the Czech Republic mainly through bogus marriages, unrealized university studies or fictitious employment, the NCOZ says. Others first acquire citizenship in another European Union state, such as Hungary or Romania.

Organized crime in the Czech Republic focuses on organising illegal migration and human trafficking, the NCOZ annual report states, most often of people with “socially disadvantaged backgrounds” who are exploited for their labour, including as prostitutes. The country is also used to launder money stemming from criminal enterprises in other countries.