Before entering politics at the state level, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Minister of Finance and Treasury, Srđan Amidžić, spent years building a business network with his associate Siniša Kurteš, now one of his advisers at the Council of Ministers, and Dragan Mikerević, a former Prime Minister of Republika Srpska.
As Amidžić advanced politically, his business connections grew simultaneously.
Journalists from the Centre for Investigative Reporting (CIN) found that Amidžić and Kurteš jointly owned five companies operating in the fields of consultancy, financial services, insurance and brokerage in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as one company in Switzerland. Amidžić transferred all his ownership shares to Kurteš, with or without payment, the final transfer occurring three months before he appointed Kurteš as an adviser at the Ministry of Finance and Treasury.
He did not report four of these companies in the asset declarations he submitted to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEC) in 2014 and 2019, at the beginning and the end of his term as a member of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.
According to the Election Law in BiH, nominees and elected officials have an obligation to report to the Central Election Commission (CEC) their income from the previous year and all property belonging to them and their close family members valued at upwards of BAM 5,000.
The CEC does not check the content of asset declaration reports nor does it impose any sanction for incomplete or false declaration of assets.
Colleagues and Business Partners
At the 2014 general election, Amidžić was elected to the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NSRS). In the asset declaration he submitted to the Central Election Commission (CEC) at the start of his parliamentary term, Amidžić failed to disclose his co-ownership of the consultancy firm A&K Konsalting, despite being legally required to do so.
He formally withdrew from the company seven days after filing his asset declaration.
A&K Konsalting was the first joint business venture of Amidžić and Kurteš, who had been colleagues at the Faculty of Economics in Banja Luka. Amidžić handed over his ownership share to Kurteš at no cost. In the subsequent years, the company saw its revenues grow significantly.
Their business collaboration persisted into 2015 with the launch of the microcredit firm FinCredit, established jointly by Amidžić, Kurteš, Dragan Mikerević, Mikerević’s son Dejan, and the company Finrar.
Notably, Amidžić did not report his ownership stake in FinCredit when submitting his asset declaration at the conclusion of his NSRS term in 2019.
He retained co-ownership until 2023, when he sold his share to Kurteš for 1.5 million BAM. Over the years, FinCredit has recorded multi-million-mark growth in revenue.
Amidžić and Kurteš broadened their business collaboration by establishing Smart Solution, soon followed by the insurance firm Euros osiguranje.
These companies were set up in 2015, just before Amidžić became deputy mayor of Banja Luka, serving under Igor Radojičić, his party colleague from the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD). He remained in that role for five years.
In 2016, Amidžić and Kurteš handed over ownership of Smart Solution to Euros osiguranje for BAM 2.
Amidžić’s name last appeared in Euros osiguranje’s corporate records in 2019, when he held a five per cent stake. Following his removal from the ownership structure, Siniša Kurteš’s stake increased by the same percentage. The court records reviewed by CIN journalists did not reveal the exact date on which Amidžić exited the company or the amount, if any, he received for transferring his stake.
In the subsequent years, Euros osiguranje earned revenues amounting to several million marks and emerged as the central enterprise within a network of businesses connected to Amidžić, Kurteš, and Mikerević.
Amidžić’s wife, Vanja, also took part in some of their joint business ventures. In the same year that Smart Solution and Euros osiguranje were founded, Vanja Amidžić became a co-owner of the brokerage firm Finos, alongside Kurteš, Dejan Mikerević, Sreten Kesić, Nebojša Torbica and Nemanja Gojšina.
Dragan Mikerević, and Novak Kondić, who previously served as dean of the Faculty of Economics in Banja Luka.
Later, following a similar pattern, the ownership of Finos was restructured when Vanja Amidžić transferred her share to Kurteš. This further strengthened his control over companies that had been linked to the Amidžić family for years.
Amidžić and Kurteš’s business cooperation expanded beyond Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2017. Together with Predrag Đurašević, they established Perfect’eau Sàrl in Switzerland, a company focused on sanitary and heating systems. Amidžić and Kurteš each held a 25 per cent stake, while Đurašević owned the remaining 50 per cent. Available records indicate that Amidžić left the company in 2021, passing his shares to Kurteš. Four years afterward, Kurteš also withdrew, leaving Đurašević as the sole owner.
In 2019, Amidžić did not report his involvement in the Swiss firm, nor did he disclose his wife’s ownership in Finos.
He assumed the role of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Minister of Finance and Treasury in August 2023, and the following month appointed Kurteš as his adviser.
In May 2024, Siniša Kurteš was appointed to the Board of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Air Navigation Services Agency (BHANSA) by a decision of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. His term will run for four years. Kurteš has been working at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Banja Luka since 2005.
According to asset declarations submitted by Amidžić to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEC BiH) in 2014 and 2019, he and his wife each owned one apartment. While he held shares in five companies in 2019, he only reported his co-ownership in Euros osiguranje.
His 2021 declaration, filed before becoming a minister, listed ownership in FinCredit, an apartment in Banja Luka, and a loan under his name, while his wife was listed as owning an apartment and holding shares in Finos.
In the 2023 declaration, made upon assuming the ministerial role, he stated he co-owned an apartment in Banja Luka and had a stake in FinCredit, with his wife listed as co-owner of Finos. Later that year, both transferred their shares to Kurteš, effectively ending the Amidžić family’s long-standing business involvement with those companies.
For six months, Amidžić did not respond to requests from CIN journalists seeking comment on his assets.
Although he was a shareholder in multiple firms during his time as a member of parliament, deputy mayor, and city councillor, this does not constitute a conflict of interest under Republika Srpska’s Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest in Public Authorities, as he never served as a director or held a position on any management or supervisory board.
More information about Minister Amidžić’s career and assets is available to the public through CIN’s “Politicians’ Assets” database.
This database serves as a unique repository of information about the careers, education, assets, legal proceedings, and party affiliations of approximately 230 politicians and public officials. Since 2009, CIN journalists have been gathering data and continuously updating the database with new profiles. The database includes profiles of politicians currently in office, as well as those who have ended their political careers.
