Proceedings against Milan Tegeltija suspended due to conflict of interest as the National Assembly of Republika Srpska legalized his situation

(Patria) - The Commission for Deciding on Conflict of Interest of Republika Srpska has suspended proceedings against Milan Tegeltija, advisor to the President of Republika Srpska and head of FK Borac, because the National Assembly of Republika Srpska amended the law, effectively legalizing the conflict of interest situation he was in.

What is completely absurd is that the Commission is not applying the law that was in force when Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina filed complaints against Tegeltija and five other leaders of football clubs from the Premier League of BiH.

According to the then-valid provisions of the Law, it was forbidden for any official to head an association funded from the budget with more than 100,000 KM, and Tegeltija simultaneously held the position of advisor and president of the club, which received over 2 million marks from the RS budget. Justifying himself to the media, Tegeltija argued that he was “not in a conflict of interest” because he does not receive a salary for his work in the club, and soon after, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska amended only one article of that law, exempting officials who do not receive compensation for their work in an association from the prohibition.

This law was adopted at the end of September this year, and after all this, the Commission made a decision to suspend the proceedings against Tegeltija, citing the amendments to the law, which only came into effect in October, as the reason.

“Given the aforementioned legal provision, the reasons for conducting this procedure have ceased to exist, and it is therefore suspended,” the Commission’s decision states.

In addition to this Commission not applying the positive legal regulations that were in force at the time the proceedings were initiated, it remains questionable in what procedure it was determined that the head of FK Borac does not receive any compensation for his work in the club, so TI BiH will file a complaint due to all of this.

It is particularly problematic that laws in Republika Srpska are made to suit individuals, and TI BiH has already warned that this law would legalize the situation Tegeltija is in, as well as numerous other officials who simultaneously lead non-governmental organizations funded from the budget.

The purpose of this law was to prevent officials from distributing budget funds to their own associations and private companies, so the occurrence of conflict of interest should not have been reduced to receiving a salary.

Such a provision will allow the unimpeded siphoning of public money through non-governmental organizations connected to the authorities, while at the same time, all citizens' associations not under the control of the authorities and with independent funding are being declared “foreign agents”.