Debt forgiveness happens in BiH too: Čović forgave Kemal Čaušević 50,000 KM of state money

The Croatian government will on Tuesday write off debts for the 60,000 poorest citizens in the country, and authorities hope this decision will have a positive effect on Croatia's economy, reports the news agency Patria.

Although it is less than one percent of the total debt, the long-term consequences should be good, the media write.

The decision on debt forgiveness was made on January 15, and it comes into effect on Monday, February 2, when candidates for debt forgiveness will begin submitting applications.

Citizens who do not have savings or ownership of anything will be considered. Also, candidates must not owe the state more than 4,500 euros, and their monthly income must not exceed 122 euros.

However, long before Croatia, forgiveness of state money happened in BiH as well. Former director of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH Kemal Čaušević admitted in the BiH Prosecutor's Office that Dragan Čović, leader of HDZ BiH and member of the BiH Presidency, forgave him a debt of 50,000 KM at a time when he was the Federal Minister of Finance.

- I have a kind of gratitude towards Čović. As the Minister of Finance of the Federation of BiH, he was fair to me. They acknowledged some amount of 50,000 KM to me as suffered damage due to investments I had in the apartment where I lived for several years, and the apartment was owned by the Government of the Federation – Čaušević admitted to state investigators, writes NAP.