Criminal complaint filed against Milan Tegeltija with the BiH Prosecutor's Office

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - A criminal complaint against the President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, Milan Tegeltija, signed by more than 1,300 citizens of BiH, including those signed online, was submitted to the BiH Prosecutor's Office this morning.

The complaint was filed by Eldin Karić, director of the Anti-Corruption Network in BiH (ACCOUNT), and Stefan Blagić, an activist from ReStart Srpske in Banja Luka.

The complaint against Milan Tegeltija was filed due to reasonable suspicion that on November 23, 2018, he met with Marko Pandža, an inspector of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), and Nermin Alešević, a businessman from Velika Kladuša, during which Marko Pandža directly mediated with him, as a public official in BiH institutions, to mediate with Dalida Burzić, Chief Prosecutor of the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office, to favorably resolve the case of the complainant Nermin Alešević.

"Well, even though he knew, as the president of the HJPC of BiH, that Pandža was committing a criminal offense with such actions, he did not report the criminal offense and the perpetrator, as he was obliged to do, thereby committing the criminal offense of 'Failure to report a criminal offense or perpetrator' under Article 230, Paragraph (2) of the Criminal Code of BiH. The accused committed the said criminal offense in a way that he knew about the commission of the criminal offense of 'Receiving a reward or other form of benefit for trading in influence' under Article 219, Paragraph (2), and did not report it. The accused was aware and informed that Marko Pandža, an inspector of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), was committing the criminal offense of 'Receiving a reward or other form of benefit for trading in influence' under Article 219, Paragraph (2) by using his official or social or influential position or other status to cause a public official or responsible person in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely Milan Tegeltija, President of the HJPC of BiH, to perform or not perform an official or other action," the complaint stated.

- We are delivering the complete work to the Prosecutor's Office; here are the complaints signed by people with their full names and ID card numbers. It is time for someone to start doing their job – Karić said during the handover.

Stefan Blagić recalled that signing the complaint was prohibited in Banja Luka, and he believes that the number of signatories would have been significantly higher.

"Will Tegeltija be held accountable? I am not optimistic. But he announced a reckoning, so now he can start with that reckoning because there are about 1,300 signatures. We will wait and see if the Prosecutor's Office will do anything," said Stefan Blagić.