SIPA arrests five for organized crime, searches at 14 locations

Police officers of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) early this morning, 30.11.2015, began an operation codenamed "Rebus" which is being conducted in the wider Sarajevo area, reports the BH News Agency Patria.

In the "Rebus" operation, five persons were deprived of their liberty due to grounds for suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of organized crime, in connection with the criminal offenses of tax evasion, falsification or destruction of business or commercial books or documents, filing a false tax return, and money laundering.

Persons with initials A.M. (1971), A.Ć. (1972), E.Š. (1985), A.B. (1984), and A.M. (1969) were deprived of their liberty. Searches of residential and business premises at 14 locations are underway, with the aim of finding and temporarily seizing items that could serve as evidence in further proceedings.

The persons deprived of their liberty are suspected of committing the aforementioned criminal offenses while performing various duties and jobs in the companies "Mrkva Group d.o.o. Sarajevo" and "Mrkva d.o.o. Sarajevo". It is suspected that the budget of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was damaged by several million KM due to the illegal activities of the suspects in this case.

The mentioned activities were carried out by order of the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo and the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton, and are the result of a multi-month investigation. During the work on this case, SIPA police officers achieved close cooperation with officials of the Tax Administration of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and today's activities were carried out in cooperation with police officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton.

The persons deprived of their liberty will be brought to the official premises of SIPA, where criminal processing will be carried out, after which, along with a report on the committed criminal offense and perpetrators, they will be handed over for further proceedings to the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton.