The National Security Agency (Montenegrin: Agencija za Nacionalnu Bezbjednost; ANB) is the national security intelligence agency of Montenegro. Its headquarters are located in Podgorica.
ANB collects data and information on potential threats, plans or intentions of organizations, groups or individuals the activities of which are aimed against the territorial integrity, security and the established order guaranteed by the Constitution of Montenegro. Although it is recognized as a successor of SFR Yugoslavia's state security apparatus, the ANB in its current form was created on May 28, 2005 by a law which gave the ANB the powers which were previously held by Serbia and Montenegro's Ministry of Internal Affairs.[1] Less than a year later, Montenegro declared independence after holding a referendum on May 21, 2006.
History
Much of the ANB's history is very contemporary due to the recent establishment of the current Montenegrin republic. Since its creation in 2005, it has been deeply involved in the area of illegal drug trade in the Balkans. In 2012, an anonymous person who claimed to be connected to the ANB told a journalist from Vijesti that ANB does not collect information from whistleblowers, but instead has agents planted among criminals, journalists, and political parties from the opposition.[2]
In the years subsequent to Montenegro's declaration of independence in 2006, the government of Montenegro, which since 2006 to 2015 has been largely composed of DPS members, has pushed with much effort for NATO membership and European Union integration. NATO's demands in Montenegrin reforms led to several substitutions in the group of ANB, and the agency's foreign influences had accumulated to a point in 2014 where there were allegations of encroachments (on the ANB) from NATO countries and from Russia.[3] This has further stimulated discussion on Montenegro's sovereignty from foreign influence since the ANB was established in 2005.
Controversies
In May 2013, after the arrest of Albanian narcotics dealer Naser Keljmendi, the director of the federal police of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Lukač, claimed that Keljmendi's hiding was aided by the ANB.[4]
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