Federal Police Administration Requests Paperwork on Legislators and Aides

Federal Police Administration requested from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s House of Peoples paperwork about legislators’ accommodation allowances and hiring of advisors for Lidija Bradara, the House’s chairwoman.
House of Peoples in the Federation of BiH Parliament regularly rents apartments for legislators who don’t actually live in those apartments, and it is expensive -- nearly 276,000 KM over the last two and half years. (Photo: CIN)

Acting on behalf of Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor’s Office, the Federation Police Administration (FPA) requested paperwork from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) House of Peoples on hiring of advisors to its chairwoman Lidija Bradara and living expenses of the House legislators.

The prosecutors have opened a case after the Center for Investigative Reporting in Sarajevo (CIN) published last month an investigation about legislators’ bogus accommodation and Bradara’s hiring of eight advisors.

Prosecutor’s Office Is Investigating Misuse of Parliamentary Allowances and Illegal Hiring
Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor’s Office is looking into misuse of living away from home allowances, claimed by the legislators of the FBiH Parliament’s House of Peoples, and how the House chairwoman Lidija Bradara hired her aides.
Fake Accommodation for Additional Income
Over two and half years, legislators from the FBiH Parliament have collected more than 825,000 KM in accommodation, living-away-from-home and transport allowances. Most of them have taken advantage of the loopholes in regulations.

The FBiH House of Peoples has been asked to provide all the paperwork related to legislators who have claimed accommodation allowances, including certificates that prove that they had met the requirements, a list of fees they have received and how fees are paid.

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The police administration also requested the regulations, laws and rulebooks that paved the way for Bradara’s hiring of eight advisors and which regulate their salaries and benefits.

CIN reporters uncovered that since January 2015, some legislators cheaply rented apartments in order to keep more of the accommodation allowance for themselves. The apartments are either uninhabitable or far away from the FBiH Parliament. Some also concluded rental agreements for apartments in which other people lived. At least half of the legislators does not use those apartments at all and could not explain to CIN reporters their whereabouts.

Over two and a half years, taxpayers have spent more than 825,000 KM to reimburse 35 legislators for living expenses.

In another investigation, CIN reporters found that the House of People’s chairwoman Bradara appointed five advisors illegally.

Bradara and Eight Advisors
Five advisors to Lidija Bradara, chairwoman of the House of Peoples in the Federation of BiH Parliament, are ineligible by law for those posts. The FBiH taxpayers spent on them more than 306,000 KM over two and half years.

She could choose aides without advertising for them, but according to the Law on State Service aides must meet the same criteria as civil servants – such as five years’ experience. Five aides did not meet this criterion. Over 26 months more than 306,000 KM was spent from the FBiH budget on the salaries and benefits of eight Bradara’s aides.

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.

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