30.6.2011
Violating the law pays off for BiH’s leading political parties even when they are caught at it. Fines are so small, violations usually get repeated.
Ivo Filipović, the second man of the Brčko District Assembly concealed part of his assets in both Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and manipulated the reported value of his property in his asset declarations.
The sound of construction machinery shatters the silence on the island of Pag in Croatia. On the coast of Novalja, a residential building is being developed by Ivo Filipović, the Deputy Speaker of the Brčko District Assembly, and his wife Pera.
This is just one of their properties in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
The rest of their properties are located in Zagreb, Rovinj, Novi Vinodolski, and Filipović’s hometown of Skakava Donja near Brčko. According to his estimates and purchase contracts, the Filipović family’s real…
Violating the law pays off for BiH’s leading political parties even when they are caught at it. Fines are so small, violations usually get repeated.
Between 2004 and 2010, the governments in BiH have spent 134.7 million KM of taxpayer money to finance political parties. Some politicians say money could be better used, but they are not doing anything to make that happen.
Judicial authorities often belatedly issue orders to freeze the assets of convicts after they have managed to sell them off.
Zoran Ćopić gave an exclusive interview to OCCRP seven days before he was arrested.
While the number of reported corruption cases rises, there are fewer trials and investigations against politicians can take years. BiH courts have acquitted one third of the white-collar defendants who have come before them, and mainly only the lowest level offenders get convicted. One out of five convicts get a jail term, while 80 percent gets away with a fine or probation.
Nedim Ćosić was appointed as an expert assistant with the Municipal Court in Sarajevo even though, at the time he applied for the job, he hadn’t taken the bar exam — one of the position’s key requirements.
There is no guarantee that people sentenced to prison will ever serve any time. Some of the guilty, including some officeholders, have figured out how to postpone lock up for years. Others don’t ever go in.
Because original documents are missing from the case file of Čović and the Lijanovićies, legal proceedings could be endangered, according to the Prosecutor’s Office of Sarajevo Canton.
The FBiH government has invested 1.27 million KM in the “Residence of Rest” in Trpanj, an exclusive guesthouse on the Croatian Adriatic intended for politicians and civil servants. Taxpayers are paying increasing amounts for maintenance, which the government-owned company that runs the residence is hiding.
Twenty-five officeholders and government officials found guilty of abuse of office have been pardoned over the past five years. Some of them managed to avoid prison, while criminal records were erased for others. Some of the pardoned continue to work for public companies or serve in office.
Six big political parties in BiH have taken donations from companies doing business with the government, even though this is prohibited by the state Law on Financing Political Parties.
Eight BiH Parliamentary Assembly members and their drivers collected nearly 305,000 KM to cover the cost of transport by personal vehicles over two years. Due to poor oversight some used the perk even though they did not qualify for it.
Violating the law pays off for BiH’s leading political parties even when they are caught at it. Fines are so small, violations usually get repeated.
Between 2004 and 2010, the governments in BiH have spent 134.7 million KM of taxpayer money to finance political parties. Some politicians say money could be better used, but they are not doing anything to make that happen.
Judicial authorities often belatedly issue orders to freeze the assets of convicts after they have managed to sell them off.
Zoran Ćopić gave an exclusive interview to OCCRP seven days before he was arrested.
While the number of reported corruption cases rises, there are fewer trials and investigations against politicians can take years. BiH courts have acquitted one third of the white-collar defendants who have come before them, and mainly only the lowest level offenders get convicted. One out of five convicts get a jail term, while 80 percent gets away with a fine or probation.
Nedim Ćosić was appointed as an expert assistant with the Municipal Court in Sarajevo even though, at the time he applied for the job, he hadn’t taken the bar exam — one of the position’s key requirements.
There is no guarantee that people sentenced to prison will ever serve any time. Some of the guilty, including some officeholders, have figured out how to postpone lock up for years. Others don’t ever go in.
Because original documents are missing from the case file of Čović and the Lijanovićies, legal proceedings could be endangered, according to the Prosecutor’s Office of Sarajevo Canton.
The FBiH government has invested 1.27 million KM in the “Residence of Rest” in Trpanj, an exclusive guesthouse on the Croatian Adriatic intended for politicians and civil servants. Taxpayers are paying increasing amounts for maintenance, which the government-owned company that runs the residence is hiding.
Twenty-five officeholders and government officials found guilty of abuse of office have been pardoned over the past five years. Some of them managed to avoid prison, while criminal records were erased for others. Some of the pardoned continue to work for public companies or serve in office.
Six big political parties in BiH have taken donations from companies doing business with the government, even though this is prohibited by the state Law on Financing Political Parties.
Eight BiH Parliamentary Assembly members and their drivers collected nearly 305,000 KM to cover the cost of transport by personal vehicles over two years. Due to poor oversight some used the perk even though they did not qualify for it.
The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN) in Sarajevo is unique in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the first organization of its kind to be established in Balkans. CIN is dedicated to investigative reporting, aimed toward providing fair and unbiased information, based on evidences and solid proof, to BiH citizens who need to make educated decisions.
Downloading of the content of the CIN is permitted with the mandatory reference to the source at www.cin.ba.
Svojim anonimnim prijavama doprinosite integritetu naše zajednice. Molimo vas da iskoristite ovu formu kako biste sigurno prijavili bilo kakvu sumnju u korupciju ili nezakonitu aktivnost koju primijetite. Vaša hrabrost ključna je za očuvanje naših vrijednosti i promicanje transparentnosti.
