Legal entities covered by 'Zadruga' employ more than 25,000 people

(Patria) - The Cantonal Court in Sarajevo has confirmed the indictment of the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office in the 'Zadruga' case against 32 individuals and four companies. The indictment contains more than 3,500 pages, several thousand pieces of material evidence have been proposed, and the hearing of 571 witnesses and five expert witnesses is planned. The trial could last for years.

The Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office conducted investigative actions in this case in coordination with the Sarajevo Canton Ministry of Interior, the Tax Administration of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Financial Intelligence Department of the State Investigation and Protection Agency, ultimately resulting in one of the most extensive cases in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"Why certain legal entities, and even individuals, were omitted from the indictment, compared to the number of legal entities that have been repeatedly published in the media, remains unknown and is more a question for the prosecutor's office," one of the lawyers in this case, Ermin Gačanović, told NAP.

"The prosecutor's office has the legal authority to conduct proceedings according to its own conviction. However, even with this part that has been indicted, considering previous experiences in equally or less extensive cases, the proceedings could last for many years.

This means we can only imagine the judicial scenario if all those whose names have been published over the past year were indicted, and the economic scenario in Sarajevo Canton, in that case, is better left unimagined.

This is because it is estimated that the legal entities covered by the 'Zadruga' case employ more than 25,000 people, which means a lot for the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina," says Gačanović.

The consequences that the legal entities covered by 'Zadruga' have felt so far have been severe, both due to the loss of business partners and projects, i.e., jobs, while with the indictment, i.e., after the confirmation of the indictment, the legal entities risk even more serious consequences, namely that the indicted legal or natural persons would not be able to obtain a certificate that no criminal proceedings are being conducted against them, which would significantly prevent these legal or natural persons from participating in public tenders in procedures where this is set as a condition for participation in the tender.

"Therefore, the real question is whether all this is truly in the public interest, especially considering such a large number of legal entities in the area of Sarajevo Canton," says Gačanović.

"In the entire, so far, development of the 'Zadruga' case, I am of the opinion that there are no objective indicators that the public interest has been primarily established for taking the harshest measures against a large number of legal entities on which the Budget of Sarajevo Canton and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina significantly relies.

What is certainly important for determining the public interest, and especially for the economy of Sarajevo Canton, is the following: how much money did the legal entities, during the period for which they are being accused or suspected, pay into the Budget of Sarajevo Canton and the Budget of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is that many times more or less money than the amount for which they are being charged at all, and whether there is economic justification for taking procedural measures against them and what kind.

On the other hand, the consequences of publishing the most serious criminal charges against them over the past year have been so severe in the market that it is questionable how many legal entities will survive and for how long before they go bankrupt or into liquidation," Gačanović emphasizes.

He raises the question of whether a better or milder approach could have been applied for the Budget of Sarajevo Canton and Bosnia and Herzegovina?

"Yes. A better and milder approach could have been applied. This is because, in my opinion, 'Zadruga' is a matter of direct taxes, i.e., taxes and contributions on salaries and from salaries in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, the most important issue for the budget, certainly, but for correcting any possible irregularities in that regard, the legislation has prescribed a procedure that is much healthier for the economy. Namely, in the 'Zadruga' case, an additional tax liability was assessed to the legal entities, without, however, conducting the procedure prescribed by legislation for determining and assessing additional tax liabilities regarding direct taxes.

It is likely that, precisely because of the failure to conduct the legally prescribed procedure, the final word in the 'Zadruga' case will be given by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina or the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg," Gačanović announces.