Bought International Awards to Show Off at Home Turf
The Institutions, private firms and individuals from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Serbia have been receiving the awards from Oxford-based European Business Assembly (EBA) for years. The awards are pitched as outstanding results achieved in a prestigious competition. However, the reporters from the Center for Investigative Reporting in Sarajevo and Belgrade (CIN/CINS) found that lucrative business is behind awards ceremonies.
Stolen Cars Rot at a Police Depot
The owners of stolen cars found at the scrap yard of Mate Šimić, are waiting for years to be informed about the fate of their cars. The court has ordered the stolen cars to be returned to a scrap yard where they were seized.
Montenegrin Prosecutors Launch Probe Into Irish Investment
Disgraced Irish banker Michael Fingleton is facing a criminal investigation for a deal involving purchase of a hotel in the medieval town of Kotor, Montenegro.
Pot for the Poor is Welfare to Legislators
Federation Vice-Prime Minister Lijanović gave out budget money earmarked for emergencies and unplanned costs to members of his People’s Party Work for Betterment.
Loans to Employers, Debts to Citizens
Sarajevo Canton has given employment loans to firms for years, but some spent the money without employing anyone. Employment Bureau officials say that these programs aren’t going to be repeated soon. However, the combined debt of the firms to the Canton taxpayers to date is 2.5 million KM.
Kelmendi: a Businessman on a Living Wage
Naser Kelmendi has acquired property worth 6 million KM on a salary that averaged 360 KM a month and a number of money-losing firms in Sarajevo.
Workers on a Powder Keg
Employees of two weapons factories in BiH say that their directors ordered them to violate safety rules for disassembling and transporting explosive devices. Binas in Bugojno is storing some 221,000 explosive devices in warehouses, some in very bad condition.
Double Breaks for Once-Guilty Officials
FBiH President Živko Budimir violated the law by clearing the criminal records of three people who already had won pardons.
Explosive Devices Disappeared in a Fictitious Report
A year and a half after a Bugojno firm, Binas, received government money to destroy explosive devices, dozens of tons were found in its warehouses.