European Public Prosecutors actively investigate potential scams regarding money spending from European Union funds in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These are serious doubts involving irregularities in financing infrastructure projects, possible abuse of tax and customs facilities, and even money laundering.
Although the details of the case are not known for now, the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina was also confirmed in the investigation, which cooperates on the basis of an interstate agreement signed in 2023. Years. This agreement enables the formation of joint investigative teams in the fight against cross-border crime and abuse of European funds.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, known as the EPPO, is already operating in several concrete cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but in the prosecution do not want to date by names or details due to the investigation phase. Such practice is standard and in other Member States of the European Union, where similar cases do not comment on public until concrete indictments are due. However, confirmation that something is truly investigated but causes attention, especially due to the fact that it is European funds intended for development, not for private pockets.
Denis Džidić from BIRN BiH points out that such an investigation does not surprise anyone who knows the situation in the country. BiH has been facing high levels of corruption for years, and numerous media and research portals have published suspicious details in the past, especially when it comes to large projects like building motorways. It is these cases, as we unofficially find out, could be part of the current investigation.
Additional weight allows the fact that European public prosecutors in Bosnia and Herzegovina have very broad authority. As Damjan Ožegović explains from Transparency International, European prosecutors may act completely independently in the country, which does not respond to many from domestic law structures, as the domestic judiciary, however, is still functioning under strong political influence. This independence of European prosecutors allows investigations to be conducted without interference and political pressures.
What is the actual scale of possible abuse, best shows that in late 2024. year in the entire European Union was an active 2666 investigation, with estimated harm for the European budget of almost 25 billion euros. In this context, investigations in Bosnia and Herzegovina are just a small part of a larger problem, but with great importance – not only due to the refund, but also because of the future credibility of the country in the eyes of European partners.
(Type / Source: Bhrt.ba/Autor: Danijel Lepir / Photo Illustration)
