Čaušević's 5.5-year prison sentence confirmed, property worth 1.7 million KM confiscated

(Patria) - Former Director of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH Kemal Čaušević has been acquitted of money laundering by the Appellate Panel of the Court of BiH, and his sentence of five and a half years in prison has been confirmed, with property worth 1.7 million KM to be confiscated.

We remind you that the sentencing was scheduled after a retrial and closing statements in which the Prosecution requested that Čaušević be found guilty of money laundering and that his illegally acquired property be confiscated, while the Defense assessed that the indictment's allegations were not proven and requested an acquittal.

The trial of Kemal Čaušević began in July 2017, and the first-instance verdict, by which he was sentenced to nine years in prison for accepting gifts and other benefits and money laundering, was delivered by the Court in May 2021. The verdict stated that in May 2007, Čaušević contacted textile importers Sedinet Karić and Anes Sadiković, promising them preferential treatment during import in the form of reduced customs duties, without detailed inspections and with the acceptance of invoices with incorrect data, asking in return for 1,000 KM per imported truck, to which they agreed and gave him money in Sarajevo and Banja Luka.

This verdict states that Čaušević received an amount of no less than 1.7 million KM from 2007 to February 2011, of which Sadiković paid 1,297,000 KM, and Karić paid around 425,000 KM.

In addition to Čaušević, Karić and Sadiković were indicted in this case. Sadiković was sentenced to two years in prison for giving gifts during textile imports, while Karić was sentenced to one year in prison at the very beginning of the proceedings for giving gifts and other benefits, based on a plea agreement with the Prosecution.