By order of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH certain activities were undertaken within the operation code-named "Master". Collected evidence indicates multimillion abuse of office among the officials of the customs office within the ITA, as well as among other members of organized criminal group.
By order of the Prosecutor of the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption within the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, dozens of SIPA officers carried out activities pertaining to arrests of several persons and raids at several locations in Tuzla, Bijeljina, Sarajevo, Brčko and Zvornik.
The arrested persons are suspected of organized crime in conjunction with customs and tax fraud and money laundering. Among those arrested are high ranked officials of BiH ITA i.e. Heads of Customs Offices in Bijeljina and Tuzla, as well as customs officers employed in BiH ITA.
According to the evidence collected in this extensive investigation within the aim of fight against corruption and organized crime, the perpetrators and ITA officials have misused their position and participated in organized crime by way of allowing lorries and trucks of certain companies to pass without any customs control of goods and performing other abuse-related activities in customs procedures for money or other forms of benefits.
In this way, they have caused multimillion BAM damages to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens, because the collected evidence indicates these illegal activities were related to import of various types of imported goods, mostly textiles, for at least two years. Great damage was also inflicted to the security in BiH, because these activities enabled import and smuggling of illegal substances and equipment.
Persons deprived of liberty shall be handed over to the Assigned Prosecutor, who will question them and then decide whether to file a motion for remand in custody or motion to order prohibiting measures, in accordance with the law.
Persons under investigation in this case are suspected of criminal offenses of Organized Crime under Article 250 in conjunction with the criminal offense of Tax Evasion or Fraud under Article 210, criminal offense of Customs Fraud under Article 216 and criminal offense of Money Laundering under Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Prosecutor's Office of BiH, along with other police agencies in our country, continues its resolute fight against corruption and organized crime, in particular those types of crime that involve officials of BiH institutions.