New Indictment for Misuse of Brčko Grants

Alen Mujkić, a key figure in the Brčko associations Sportaš and Centar za turizam i kulturu (Engl. Center for Tourism and Culture), faces charges of the most severe forms of abuse of position or authority and money laundering, brought by the Prosecutor’s Office of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

He is accused of spending grants awarded to him by the Government of the Brčko District for personal needs from 2017 to 2021, as well as paying others for service contracts that were never fulfilled. According to the indictment, Mujkić fictitiously represented the expenditure of almost half of the 422,500 BAM he received for the association’s work.

In the indictment confirmed before the Basic Court in Brčko, the Prosecution has requested to seize Mujkić’s unlawful gains, amounting to 74,419 BAM, as well as an additional sum of nearly 160,000 BAM from companies, associations, and individuals alleged to have received the funds. Additionally, the Prosecution has proposed to the Court a ten-year ban on holding positions in associations and foundations.

“He incorporated these funds into the regular financial system, utilizing them for his personal needs or to fulfill obligations of other individuals,” as indicated in the Prosecutor’s statement

Abuse of position and authority carries a minimum prison sentence of three years, while the sentence for money laundering ranges from one to ten years.

The Centre for Investigative Reporting wrote back in 2019 about how the grant allocation to non-governmental associations had become a lucrative business for their founders and local politicians in the Brčko District. Journalists revealed that politicians used this money to buy votes, while their friends from the associations spent the funds without proper oversight.

Grants in Brčko to Friends and Voters

Doling out grants to non-governmental organizations has become a lucrative business for their founders and local politicians in Brčko District. Politicians buy votes in this way, while their friends from associations spend money without oversight.

The investigation revealed that reps of the associations were lashing out with citizens’ money, – spending it on themselves and their buddies, expensive furniture and gear, and cooking the books to justify the expenses. No institution in the Brčko District thoroughly monitored their spending.

Following CIN’s investigation, Ćazim Dačaj, a former representative of the Brčko District Assembly, got a four-year prison term in 2021 for mishandling the grant allocation to local citizen associations. Dačaj had assets valued at 131,000 BAM seized as proceeds of crime, and he was barred from holding representative responsibilities in the Brčko District Assembly for five years.

Former Brčko MP Ćazim Dačaj Convicted

The former member of the Brčko District Assembly was sentenced to prison for abusing his position by awarding grants to associations.

Additionally, there is an ongoing court proceeding against Alija Denjagić, an independent representative in the Brčko District Assembly, and Enida Osmanović-Stevanović, the president of the association “Sjedinjene nacionalne manjine” (Engl. United National Minorities), also for the abuse of position. The Brčko District Prosecutor’s Office accused Denjagić of pocketing over 32,000 BAM through Brčko grants, all at the expense of the SNM Association and the Brčko District Government. Osmanović-Stevanović is charged with exploiting her position to let Denjagić and his cronies dip into the funds earmarked for the SNM association for personal use.

Brčko Deputy Alija Denjagić Accused

The Brčko Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against MP Alija Denjagić and president of the local citizens’ association Enida Osmanović-Stevanović. They were accused of abusing their positions to obtain material benefits for themselves and others through the Brčko grants.