Kaplan Deceived Himself

Salmir Kaplan, Federal Minister of Culture and Sports, cannot agree with himself on when he received the accommodation allowance, which he approved for himself, writes Istinomjer.ba, reports the Patria News Agency.

A major scandal in the domestic public was caused by a recently published text by the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN) regarding the justification of spending budget funds for accommodation and living expenses of ministers in the FBiH Government, including Salmir Kaplan.

Attempted Denial

Although he owns an apartment in Sarajevo, where his workplace is, he regularly received 600 KM per month for separate living expenses.

Regarding this case, the Federal Minister of Culture and Sports, Salmir Kaplan, publicly announced himself, giving an interview to CIN journalists, and afterwards posted on his Facebook profile where he attempted to deny the allegations in the text. The Federal Minister of Culture and Sports, in his subsequent comments on the published text, made at least several inconsistencies and untruths, which Istinomjer will try to point out in this text.

Certainly, the most scandalous aspect of this entire case is Kaplan's claim that he "did not register" receiving a monthly allowance of 600 KM, given that he was a member of the Commission that awarded these funds. As stated in the CIN text, Kaplan received a total of 24,900 KM from the budget of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the beginning of his mandate until the publication of the controversial text.

"If you are going to believe me, I didn't even register it," Minister Kaplan told CIN journalists.

(Cin.ba, 25.12.2014.)

Namely, Kaplan was appointed Federal Minister of Culture and Sports in March 2011, and according to CIN, five days later he was also appointed a member of the Commission for resolving the status issues of members of the FBiH Government and their advisors. This commission specifically approves accommodation and apartment rental costs, as well as separate living expenses for officials. Members of this commission, the text further states, meet on average once a month and receive 311 KM each month for their work in the Commission.

Therefore, it is clear that Kaplan could not have "not registered" additional monthly income of 600 KM, given that he practically approved these funds for himself, making his statement evidently untrue. As a member of the aforementioned commission, since March 2011, Salmir Kaplan, along with his colleagues, has collected an additional approx. 17,416 KM for work in the commission where, it appears, he deceived himself.

In addition, in the text published on the CIN website on 25.12.2014, Minister Kaplan also said the following:

"There is nothing controversial about it now, I say it openly now: when you live in your own apartment, it is not moral to receive an allowance. Perhaps it is a matter of a few months, so it is not a problem to return it either."

Kaplan then promised to renounce the allowance, and as stated in the text, after talking with CIN journalists, Salmir Kaplan requested the Commission to abolish this right, and the commission accepted his request.

However, on December 29, Kaplan wrote something on his Facebook profile that was not entirely consistent with the statements in the published text.

Separate Living

"A few months ago, I stopped using the right to allowances for accommodation and separate living," Kaplan stated on his Facebook profile on 29.12.2014, and continued:

"The amount I received for the period in which I had the formal right to receive the allowance, but not the moral right, I paid to the Alliance of War Invalids of the HNK for the treatment of severely ill children of war invalids. The amount paid is 6,600 KM and will be distributed to several of the most severe cases in the HNK. Anyone interested in the details can obtain them from representatives of the Alliance of War Invalids of the HNK."

In the text published on December 25, the minister said that it was a matter of only a few months, that "there is nothing controversial about it," and that it is not a problem to return the amount, only to state four days after the text was published that he had already "stopped using the right to allowances for accommodation and separate living a few months ago." Therefore, just a few days earlier, Kaplan "for the first time acknowledged" having excess income, and a few days later claimed that he had already returned the money, which are facts that do not align at all and can be characterized as inconsistent. In addition, the amount of allegedly returned money is also questionable. If Kaplan indeed paid 6,600 KM, according to a very simple calculation, it turns out that he received the controversial allowance for at least 11 months, which is much more than "just a few months" as he himself stated.

On the other hand, Kaplan's statements regarding the period of moving into his apartment in the Vogošća settlement are also questionable. The minister claims in the text that he moved into the new apartment at the beginning of 2014, while his neighbors confirmed to CIN journalists that he has been living there since the beginning of 2013.

Money Paid

If his neighbors' claims are true, Kaplan should have "returned" 13,800 KM in that case, not 6,600 KM as he claims to have paid to the Alliance of War Invalids of the HNK.

Therefore, by simply comparing the statements he made to CIN journalists and his later statements written on his Facebook profile, it is clear that Minister Kaplan attempted to deceive the public once again, and despite the facts that seriously contradict him, present himself as a highly moral official.

Given that Our Party filed a lawsuit against Kaplan with the KS Prosecutor's Office, and that it announced that on December 29, just four days after the text was published, it had opened a case in this matter and issued an order to the FUP for an urgent verification of the media reports, it will be interesting to follow how this case develops further.