Abdulah Skaka handed over to the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Former mayor of Sarajevo and current ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Qatar, Abdulah Skaka, was handed over to the Prosecutor's Office of the Sarajevo Canton (KS) today, after being arrested yesterday as part of the "Visionary" operation.

During the operation, several locations were searched, including the house and other property of the arrested person.

Related text: Former Sarajevo Mayor Abdulah Skaka Detained at MUP KS

Skaka was arrested on suspicion of committing several criminal offenses during his tenure as mayor of Sarajevo, from 2016 to 2020.

These include abuse of office, dereliction of duty, forgery of an official document, and giving gifts and other benefits.

The KS Prosecutor's Office announced that Skaka is charged with illegally employing four advisors and illegally spending money from the city budget.

"He is charged with giving a gift in connection with the election of the President of the City Council, so that Bogić Bogićević could not be elected mayor of Sarajevo, or rather, to secure a second term for himself in that position. He is suspected of giving grant funds to non-governmental organizations close to him, in which members of his family were engaged. He is also charged with forging financial reports in which he did not disclose donations received by the city. He is also under investigation for illegally approving funds from the City of Sarajevo for the construction of lighting in the weekend settlement Rajski Do in the municipality of Trnovo (RS), where his weekend house is located, and for forging documentation related to the Formula E bolide project," the statement said.

Several other individuals were questioned, but none of them were deprived of their liberty.