PROHIBITING MEASURES PROPOSED AGAINST ELEVEN PERSONS SUSPECTED OF CORRUPTION CRIMES IN ‘BRAND’ ACTION

In this case, it will be requested that all the suspects be removed from their customs officers’ duties while the procedure is ongoing. 

Having questioned the suspects, the Prosecutor from the Special Department for Organised Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina in charge of the case will put forward a Motion with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, seeking that strict prohibiting measures be ordered against eleven (11) suspected customs officers who were deprived of liberty in the course of the ‘Brand’ action. This action was carried out by the police officers of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), upon the order of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and with the support and assistance by entity police agencies.

It will be requested that all of the suspects be removed from their duties while the procedure is ongoing; moreover, prohibiting measures will be proposed in respect of some of the suspects, including the measures of house arrest, mandatory reporting to the competent police authority and prohibition from meeting with witnesses and suspects in this case. 

The aforementioned suspects are subject to investigation in regard to the criminal offences of Accepting Bribe or Other Forms of Benefit (Article 217 of the BiH CC), Abuse of Office or Official Authority (Article 220 of BiH CC) and Associating for the Purpose of Perpetrating Criminal Offences (Article 249 of the BiH CC).  

In the course of the investigation, evidence was collected suggesting that, for a longer period of time during the import of goods to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the aforementioned suspects participated in an illegal action of letting the freight transport of goods through when entering Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus acquiring unlawful material gain and incurring damage to both the customs incomes and the budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whereby they harmed all  citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.    

The investigation in this case continues intensively in the direction of issuing an Indictment against these suspects.