Federal Prosecutor's Office on GRAS: Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor's Office Order to Discontinue Investigation is Not Final as it was Not Served to the Injured Parties

(Patria) - Regarding the initiative of the acting federal prosecutor of the Special Department of the Federal Prosecutor's Office of FBiH concerning the submission of the case by the Chief Cantonal Prosecutor of the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton, which relates to the Cantonal Public Utility Company GRAS, the Collegium of the Federal Prosecutor's Office of FBiH adopted the following conclusion at its session held on 17.03.2026:

"1. It is established that the Order to Discontinue Investigation, File No.: T09 0 KTPO 0174490 22 dated 18.04.2025 (KJKP GRAS), issued by the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton, is not final because the injured parties were not notified of it in accordance with Article 231, Paragraph 4 of the Law on Criminal Procedure of FBiH. For the aforementioned reasons, it was not necessary for the Chief Cantonal Prosecutor of the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton to revoke this decision; instead, it should have been served to the injured parties so they could exercise their legal right to file a complaint.

2. Given the above, the acting federal prosecutor of the Special Department of the Federal Prosecutor's Office of FBiH will return the case file No.: T09 0 KTPO 0174490 22 (KJKP GRAS) to the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton, so that the Chief Cantonal Prosecutor can revoke her decision - Order No.: T09 0 KTPO 0174490 22 (A-172/22) dated 04.03.2026, by which the Order to Discontinue Investigation No.: T09 0 KTPO 0174490 22 dated 18.04.2025 was revoked. Following this, the acting prosecutor of the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton will serve the notification of the discontinuation of the investigation to the injured parties.

3. If the injured parties file a complaint regarding the aforementioned decision, the case file must be submitted to the Office of the Chief Federal Prosecutor for a decision on the complaint, as it is evident that these are criminal offenses within the jurisdiction of the Special Department of the Federal Prosecutor's Office of FBiH, for which cantonal prosecutor's offices cannot make decisions after 30.04.2025", the Federal Prosecutor's Office announced.

The criminal complaint in this case was submitted to the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office by the KS Office for the Fight against Corruption in 2022. It includes five former cantonal ministers of transport, 18 former members of the Supervisory Board, and 24 former members of the GRAS Management, who held positions in GRAS from 2006 to 2018, when the debt amounting to several hundred million KM on account of VAT and taxes was incurred.