POSKOK Operation in Tuzla Canton: RMU Banovići Director Rasim Dostović Arrested

(Patria) - Members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) of Tuzla Canton (TK) arrested the director of the Brown Coal Mine (RMU) Banovići, Rasim Dostović, this afternoon, Istraga.ba has learned.

The operation was carried out under the order of the Special Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (POSKOK).

This is, as Istraga.ba has learned, a continuation of a previously initiated operation targeting the leadership of RMU Banovići. He is suspected of participating in rigged tenders and favoring individuals in employment, i.e., abuse of official position. In mid-February, his office was searched, and 50,000 convertible marks in cash were found.

According to Istraga.ba's information, members of the MUP TK did not find Dostović at his address today. However, they then received information that he was at lunch in Lukavac with the owners of the company Euro Dam-Jas, whom he had favored during public procurement procedures. He was followed to a gas station near Lukavac, where he was arrested.

Incidentally, through the company Euro Dam-Jas, he procured tires and other materials for RMU Banovići, and these tenders are among the reasons for which POSKOK suspects him. Motor oils have also been procured from the company Euro Dam-Jas for years.


One of the questionable decisions of RMU Banovići

Due to suspicious deals with the company Euro Dam-Jas, the RMU Banovići Trade Union wrote to the Public Procurement Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 2024. This concerned the procurement of dumper tires for the needs of the Mine.

The investigation found that the tires for the dumper trucks were overpaid (paid at a higher price) to the said company, by 12,500 KM per piece, and that this company (Dam-Jas) had supplied the same tires to Rudnik Đurđevik two months earlier at a price lower by the stated amount. At that time, one hundred tires were procured, and the difference in procurement price between Rudnik Đurđevik and RMU Banovići amounted to 1.2 million convertible marks.

Similarly, in May 2025, the Trade Union reported malversations in the procurement of diesel fuel from Hifa-Petrol. Through these contracts, diesel fuel was paid at a higher price than the retail price at gas stations. The contracted price was 2.44 KM per liter, while at gas stations on the day the contract was signed, it was 2.19 KM/l. In the same period, Hifa-Petrol procured diesel fuel for Rudnik Đurđevik at a price of 1.8 KM per liter.

Dostović's arrest was confirmed by the Federal Prosecutor's Office, which stated that he is suspected of the criminal offense of receiving gifts and other benefits under Article 380, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in conjunction with Article 55 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"The suspect is accused of, by exploiting the difficult financial situation of the public enterprise Rudnik Banovići, as well as a large number of due but unpaid claims from suppliers, demanding personal benefit in the form of money in order to, within his official duties, approve payments to suppliers for due but unpaid claims.

For now, the investigation has determined that the money in the amount of at least 45,000 KM, found with Rasim Dostović during the search, originates from the commission of the criminal offense of receiving gifts and other benefits," the Federal Prosecutor's Office announced.

Rasim Dostović was appointed director in 2023 as a candidate of the PDA. Preliminary approval for his appointment was given by the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by Nermin Nikšić.