The Basic Court of the Brčko District has sentenced Edin Ražanica , the president of the Center for Democracy Association, to four months in prison, pending appeal, for abusing budget grants to obtain financial gain for himself and his close associates.
Ražanica was convicted for misappropriating nearly 40,000 BAM, granted by the Brčko District Government, for personal use and the benefit of close associates. Instead of using the funds responsibly and legally in the interest of the Center for Democracy, he diverted them for personal gain.
He was convicted based on an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office of the Brčko District of BiH, which was reached after he returned the entire financial gain obtained through the committed criminal act. In addition to the prison sentence, he was also prohibited from holding positions in citizens’ associations and foundations for a period of five years. Ražanica has the right to appeal the verdict.
In 2019, the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN) wrote that awarding grants to non-governmental associations has become a lucrative business for their founders and local politicians in Brčko District. Journalists uncovered that politicians were using this money to buy votes, while their associates in the associations spent the money without any oversight.
As stated in the indictment confirmed by the Basic Court in the Brčko District in mid-December 2023, Ražanica took advantage of his managerial position in the association to spend 39,713 BAM on personal expenses and for the needs of people close to him.
According to the indictment, from 2017 to 2020, Ražanica paid his wife 16,500 BAM for the lease of space that the association did not use. The apartment in question was a 20-square-meter space used for residential purposes during the lease. Additionally, using association funds, he purchased two mobile phones for his two daughters, totaling 2,458 BAM.
He is also accused of entering into service contracts with multiple individuals for the maintenance of several workshops, which he paid for despite them not being delivered. Moreover, he paid for the preparation and printing of publications and the development of a website, none of which were completed. He also justified some of the money received from the Government and Assembly of the Brčko District using the same invoices.
After the story was published, the Brčko District Prosecutor’s Office filed four indictments, one of which resulted in a final judgment.
In 2021, Ćazim Dačaj, a former member of the Brčko District Assembly, was sentenced to four years in prison for abusing his position in the allocation of grants to local citizens’ associations. Alija Denjagić, an independent member of the Brčko District Assembly, and Alen Mujkić are accused of misusing budgetary grants to obtain financial gain for themselves and others.
