Arrests for Marketing Crimes in BiH

HT Eronet’s director general Stipe Prlić and director of the mobile network in the Mostar telecom operator Zoran Bakula were arrested this morning at the orders of the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Prosecutor’s Office on charges of entering into harmful marketing deals.

State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) arrested the heads of a Sarajevo marketing agency SV-RSA Neven and Belma Kulenović, director of TV Mreža Plus Darko Aleksić and Lajla Torlak, the editor-in-chief and the director of TV PINK BiH’s marketing department. Pending are the arrests of Ejub Kučuk and Senad Zaimović, directors of marketing agencies Mita Group and Fabrika in Sarajevo and Sanjin Kulenović.

Nine suspects were colluding in a criminal organization which used the forged or harmful contracts and invoices to enrich themselves in the amount more than €5 million. The money was allegedly used to purchase TV rights and services, but those contractual obligations have never been honored, said SIPA officials in a press release.

According to the prosecutors the groups is suspected of abuse of office and authority, concluding harmful contracts, tax evasion, money laundering and illegal transactions worth millions.

Don't want to miss our stories?

Sign up for our newsletter.

Don't want to miss our stories?

Sign up for our newsletter.

According to the local press, Eronet directors have also made deals with SV-RSA. The payments were undersigned from the firm’s non-resident account in Slovenia only to end up—via a Gibraltar off-shore firm—on the HT Eronet managers’ secret accounts in Austria.

The police have raided 17 apartments, offices and other building in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, Posušje and Grude during the day.

The BiH Prosecutor’s Office said that they are cooperating in the investigation with the law enforcement agencies from Croatia and Slovenia.

The Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN) is also available on mobile devices, and you can download the app from the Google Play and App Store.

Tags:

Center for Investigative Journalism is the holder of the certificate

Readers’ support helps CIN reveal corruption and organized crime.
Your donation supports investigative journalism as a public good.

Latest news

Dusko_Radun
FBiH Legislator Duško Radun to Have Mandate Revoked for Second Time Following Court Verdict
The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina has revoked Duško Radun’s mandate for the second time in six years due to criminal offenses committed...
Fikret Abdić
Former Mayor of Velika Kladuša, Fikret Abdić, Convicted
The Cantonal Court in Bihać has handed down a non-final conviction to Fikret Abdić for abuse of office, sentencing him to three and a half years in prison and ordering...
NASLOVNA_Ibrahim Hasanagic
Court Rules Following Story on State Secret About Disabled Veterans
The Cantonal Court in Bihać has issued a final ruling stating that CIN caused damage to the reputation of Ibrahim Hasanagić, a wartime disabled veteran from Bihać,...
Load more