INDICTMENT ISSUED IN THE LARGEST FINANCIAL AND ORGANIZED CRIME CASE IN POST-DAYTON BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. 23 NATURAL AND LEGAL PERSONS CHARGED WITH TAX EVASION AND ILLEGAL VAT REFUND AMOUNTING TO ABOUT BAM 10 MILLION

Prosecutor of the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH issued an indictment in the case v. Mlađen Kekerović et al.

The indictment refers to 23 natural and legal persons charged with the criminal offenses of organized crime, money laundering and tax evasion, prevention of evidence collection and counterfeiting or destroying business or commercial books or documents.

The accused persons are alleged to have, during a longer time period, acted in unison as an organization and to have mutually agreed to perform tax evasions and obtain illegal VAT refunds in the amount of about 10 million.

The Prosecutor's Office of BiH requested, and the court approved, to block the  multimillion worth assets i.e. real-estate: commercial buildings, facilities and houses located in the area of Laktaši, Kozarska Dubica, Prijedor and other cities, as well as to block the movable property i.e. machinery and trucks.

Forfeiture of ill-gotten gain acquired through commission of crimes shall also be requested within this case.

This is a major indictment issued for the criminal offenses of financial crime in post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina. More than 1,000 pieces of evidentiary material will be forwarded to the Court of BiH along with the indictment, as well as a motion to hear 50 prosecution witnesses and two expert witnesses.

The team of the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption within the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, which consists of the Prosecutor, legal officers, investigator of the economic profession and interns, has worked intensively on this investigation for several years, along with the authorized officials of the Indirect Taxation Authority and SIPA officers.

Three of the suspects are in custody, and the Prosecutor's Office of BiH continues its investigation with the aim of detecting and proving the responsibility of the suspected authorized officials of the Indirect Taxation Authority who have enabled multimillion illegal VAT refunds.

The Prosecutor's Office of BiH continues its fight against organized crime and corruption in order to protect the rule of law and economic system of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as to create a safer living environment for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in light of our country's path to European integration.