Čović Acquitted of Abuse of Office Charges
Today, a Panel of Judges of the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo acquitted Dragan Čović, the president of the Croatian Democratic Union of abuse of office charges in the case of the Lijanovićs.
Closing Arguments Presented at Dragan Čović’s Trial
Today at the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo were presented closing arguments at the trial of Dragan Čović, charged with abuse of office while he was the FBiH Finance Minister in 2000.
Čović was Attending a Wedding on Day when Document was Signed
The trial of Dragan Čović continues at the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo. He is charged with undersigning paperwork that waived the Lijanovićs’ firms from paying 1.8 million KM in custom duties on imports of chicken at the time when he was the finance minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH).
Grants to Politicians’ Private Firms
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry dispensed around 15 million KM in grants to private firms. At least 4 million KM of that was awarded to firms connected to the governing parties in FBiH.
New Indictment against Dragan Čović
The Cantonal Court in Sarajevo has an eight-day deadline to confirm it or toss it out.
Expensive Mileage of the State Legislators
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.
Cushy Political Job: 100,000 KM Salary, extras, and No Votes Needed
Professional legislator is one of the most profitable occupations in BiH. Big salaries for little work and additional sources of income are some of the perks and now members of parliament don’t even have to show up to get paid.
Running under a cloud
Political party leaders don’t see any problem with running candidates under suspicion of public corruption. The voters can decide if they don’t like a candidate and courts will eventually rule on the validity of charges.
21 names on an overlooked list
The 21 officials Financial Police of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina identified in a 2003 report on public corruption in SBK Canton and listed in order of position and severity of suspected offenses. Nine are candidates for office on Oct. 1.
