Who will benefit from the Cluster operation: Will diplomas of BiH institutions' employees be reviewed?

By Amra Vrabac

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When the BiH Prosecutor's Office conducted searches and arrests at several private universities in BiH and announced a fight against corruption, organized crime, and money laundering, no one expected everything to fall silent completely within a few days.

None of the detained persons, mostly responsible individuals at these universities, were kept in custody, and BAM 450,000 was found during the searches, which are reasonably suspected to originate from the sale of diplomas.

For years, undercover investigators from SIPA have been collecting information at these universities under the guise of students, who, for a sum of money, obtained not one, not two, but three university diplomas without ever attending lectures or fulfilling other obligations. Thus, in just a few months, the investigators received three different diplomas from three different universities. The money for the diplomas was paid through intermediaries, and within a few months, they received the diplomas "by hand." The registry books were later altered to "retroactively show student enrollment." However, following the money trail, it is clear that these individuals were not actually enrolled.

These are private universities in Brčko, Banja Luka, Travnik, and Mostar. They were mostly accredited in 2020 and 2021, and their accreditation commissions included professors, two of whom would later become members of the Management Board of the Agency for the Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance, and one is even the owner of two universities under investigation.

SIPA and the BiH Prosecutor's Office have collected sufficient information and evidence for indictments against several individuals, both those who enabled and those who utilized fake university diplomas for various purposes.

Milorad Dodik, the president of SNSD, was the only one to publicly comment on this affair, calling for the verification of these and all other private universities, mostly in Široki Brijeg, Mostar, and Travnik, as well as the diplomas of employees in BiH institutions. Many have advanced and achieved high salaries thanks to express diplomas. What also arises as a question is how many employees from BiH institutions were involved in the teaching process at these universities, and how many at those not covered by this investigation. Those more familiar with these circumstances believe this was a targeted operation to weaken some universities and increase student numbers at others. As early as two years ago, then-state representative Mirjana Marinković-Lepić (NS) warned that the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Agency for Personal Data Protection were obstructing the verification of diplomas of employees in institutions. She emphasized that public interest should prevail over private interest, given that these are people receiving salaries from the budget, i.e., from citizens' funds.

Although we requested information from the BiH Prosecutor's Office on whether the investigation would be expanded, who decided that these specific universities would be targeted, and what the next steps of this judicial institution are, we received no response.

In a statement from March 3, the BiH Prosecutor's Office stated that in this criminal case, they are continuing planned activities in cooperation with all competent authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the aim of collecting evidence on decisive facts related to systemic corruption, illicit trafficking, organized crime, and money laundering in the field of higher education.

To date, although more than 10 days have passed since the operation, there is no information on whether any inspection, competent ministry in the RS and cantons, or Brčko District, which issue operating permits, has conducted an inspection of the universities under investigation. The Agency for Higher Education has also not taken any concrete action.

For years, the BiH Prosecutor's Office has failed to complete the investigation into the American University in BiH, which for years enrolled students in Sarajevo Canton, organized diploma award ceremonies, and never had a permit to operate in Sarajevo Canton. Although founded in Tuzla, the Ministry of Education of Tuzla Canton has not supervised this university for 15 years, which suspended its teaching activities in March 2020. Although its founder, Denis Prcić, is a suspect, the Tuzla Canton Prosecutor's Office has still not filed an indictment. The only ones at a loss are the students who have lost both their money and their diplomas.

And while students from BiH who have honestly earned their diplomas face problems with the non-recognition of their diplomas in Slovenia and Croatia, such a scandal can only worsen their situation.

On the other hand, Croatia exclusively recognizes diplomas from the University of Mostar, which has come under scrutiny due to the purchase of certificates for "best rector" and "university of the year," which cost $395 each. Those more familiar with the situation state that this is a fraud and that such certification attempts are not worthy of a public university that educates thousands of students.