ANOTHER SUSPECT DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY WITHIN THE ‘MASTER’ ACTION MEASURE OF CUSTODY PROPOSED AGAINST THE SUSPECT

Prosecutor from the Special Department for Organised Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has put forward a Motion with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, seeking the measure of custody to be ordered against Nermin Jahić (1994), born in Skopje, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia, who was deprived of liberty by the authorized officials of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), in continuation of the action codenamed ‘Master’. In the past period, the aforementioned suspect had been unavailable to the judicial authorities.

This suspect is subject to investigation due to the existence of a grounded  suspicion that he committed the criminal offense of Organized Crime, as referred to in Article 250, Paragraph 2, in conjunction with the criminal offense of Tax Evasion or Fraud, as referred to in Article 210, Paragraph 4, as read with  Paragraph 1, and the criminal offense of Customs Fraud, as referred to in Article 216, paragraph 3, the criminal offense of Giving Gifts and Other Forms of Benefits, as referred to in Article 218, Paragraph 1 and the criminal offense of Money Laundering, as referred to in Article 209, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The respective investigation is being conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its partner police agencies, and it pertains to the unlawful actions related to the import of large quantities of textiles to Bosnia and Herzegovina and unlawful reduction of taxes and customs duties, whereby the budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina sustained damage in large amounts.

The measure of custody has been proposed for the reasons set forth in Article 132, Paragraph 1, items a) and b) of the Criminal Procedure Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, inter alia, due to the existence of a justified fear to believe that, if at large, the suspect might destroy, conceal, alter or falsify evidence or clues important to the criminal proceedings or hinder the inquiry by influencing witnesses, accessories or accomplices.

Also, in view of the fact that the suspect Jahić has both the citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia, if at large, the suspect might flee to the territory of the Republic of Serbia and thus evade the criminal prosecution and criminal responsibility before the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina; hence, the measure of custody has been proposed.