Republika Srpska's Dodik accused of embezzlement

20/02/2009

Investigators in Bosnia and Herzegovina reportedly have pressed criminal charges against Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik and at least ten others over their alleged embezzlement of more than 70m euros.

(Onasa, RTRS, Dnevni Avaz, B92 - 20/02/09; DPA, Beta, HINA, RTRS - 19/02/09)

RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik faces charges of embezzlement and abuse of power. [Getty Images]

Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) investigation agency has filed a report charging Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Milorad Dodik with abuse of power and embezzlement costing the state and the Bosnian Serb entity budgets millions of euros, according to reports Thursday (February 19th).

The document, submitted by the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) to the BiH public prosecutor's office, reportedly brands ten other unidentified RS officials and businessmen as "complicit in the criminal organisation" led by Dodik.

They allegedly committed "several criminal acts of organised crime, money laundering, as well as misuse of official position and authorisations," costing the budgets of BiH and RS over 74m euros.

The report, which resulted from months of investigation into several construction and development projects in RS, "was against a larger group of people", not only the 11 quoted by media, according to SIPA Director Mirko Lujic.

His deputy, Dragan Lukac, who heads the agency's criminal-investigative department, signed the charges, according to Lujic. Dodik says Lukac had acted behind the backs of his superiors and in violation of legal procedure, as he had submitted the report without notifying Lujic and chief prosecutor Milorad Barasanin.

Dodik attributed the indictment to a "sectarian group" that probably wanted to see his dismissal before the appointment of a new high representative, the Belgrade-based Beta news agency quoted Dodik as telling reporters Thursday.

RS has announced it will oppose the new high representative if he is from the United Kingdom, which it claims has an anti-Bosnian Serb bias. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will announce the new nominee on Monday.

Dodik further claimed the move targeted the Bosnian Serb entity's existence, saying Lukac had been "publicly boasting in Sarajevo how he [was] going to end" it.

The criminal charges Dodik and his alleged co-conspirators face reportedly stem from the lucrative contract for building the RS government building in Banja Luka, which some journalists accuse Dodik of awarding to friends. They suspect the Banja Luka-Gradiska Highway project also went to Dodik's cronies.

The main opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) noted on Thursday that no RS cabinet official has explained why the price per kilometre of the highway was double that elsewhere in Europe. In addition, the SDP charged, Banja Luka refuses to explain why the RS government building's construction costs came in "five times" over budget and why it awards larger construction projects without holding a tender, in violation of the law on public acquisitions.

It urged the international community in BiH and state judicial authorities to ensure that the case goes to court without political or other interference.