The Prosecutor’s Office of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has filed charges against Sead Zahirović (58) for corruption and money laundering while leading the Brčko Democratic Forum association and the Zenan Foundation.
The indictment, which includes sixteen counts, each related to a specific misuse of allocated funds, accuses Zahirović of unlawfully managing the financial resources of these organisations from 2015 to 2020 with the intention of gaining financial benefits for himself and others. The funds in question, allocated as grants from the budget, amounted to BAM 136,200 for the Brčko Democratic Forum and BAM 71,000 for the Zenan Foundation.
The Prosecutor’s Office of the Brčko District of BiH has requested that Zahirović be banned from holding any responsible position in associations and foundations for at least five years.
The indictment also seeks the seizure of Zahirović’s financial gain, totalling BAM 50,314, as well as the confiscation of property acquired by other individuals through his criminal actions. This includes BAM 35,850 from the company Net Pro d.o.o. Brčko, BAM 900 from the Brčko Democratic Forum, and a total of BAM 34,150 from five other individuals.
The Centre for Investigative Reporting (CIN) reported on this case in 2019. Their investigation revealed that the allocated grants to associations exposed the arrogance of their leaders and local politicians, who misused budget funds without oversight, using the money to buy votes. Among them was Sead Zahirović.
Journalists uncovered that Zahirović failed to justify part of the grant properly, submitting double invoices for fuel, hospitality, and other association expenses.
As the value of the property he acquired through corruption exceeds BAM 50,000, the Brčko District Prosecutor’s Office has charged him with the most severe form of abuse of office or authority, which carries a minimum prison sentence of three years.
“Considering that the significant value of the acquired property was integrated into regular financial flows, he is also charged with the more serious offense of money laundering, which is punishable by imprisonment ranging from one to ten years”, said the Prosecutor’s Office.
Following CIN’s publication of the story, the Brčko District Prosecutor’s Office has filed five indictments related to the abuse of grants.
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. Dačaj’s assets worth BAM 131,000 thousand, which he acquired through criminal acts, were confiscated and he was banned from performing MP duties in the Brčko District Assembly for five years.
In 2024, the Basic Court of the Brčko District sentenced Edin Ražanica, the president of the Centre for Democracy Association, to four months in prison, pending appeal, for abusing budget grants to obtain financial gain for himself and close associates.
Ražanica was convicted for misappropriating nearly BAM 40,000, which he received from the Brčko District Government. As the responsible person at the Centre for Democracy association, he used the funds for personal expenses and those of close associates, instead of managing the money responsibly and legally in the best interest of the Association.
Also indicted are: Alija Denjagić, an independent representative in the Brčko District Assembly, who is also under investigation for vote-buying, Enida Osmanović-Stevanović, president of the United National Minorities Association, and Alen Mujkić, the responsible person at the Brčko-based Sportaš association and the Centre for Tourism and Culture. They are accused of abusing budget grants to illegally obtain financial benefits for themselves and others.
The Brčko District Prosecutor’s Office has announced that it is continuing intensive investigations to collect evidence regarding the unlawful expenditure of grant funds.
