Špirić washes his hands of the "sugar affair", while his SNSD reveals he took 2.5 million KM in bribes

Former Deputy Minister of Finance of Bosnia and Herzegovina Fuad Kasumović revealed in an interview with the news agency Patria that the state Minister of Finance and Treasury of BiH Nikola Špirić took 2.5 million KM in bribes from businessman Ilija Studen, during his time as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH.

Špirić, Kasumović claims, lobbied for the BiH Parliament to exempt businessman Studen from paying customs duties on sugar imported by his company, thereby damaging the state budget by around 60 million KM in just six years, while he received a multi-million gift in return.

Kasumović said that these shocking details were confessed to him by a man from the very top of the SNSD, one of Špirić's and Dodik's closest associates, after, Kasumović assumes, he did not receive the share that was promised to him.

The affair concerning Špirić's involvement in multi-million criminal activities was first uncovered by Kemal Čaušević, former director of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, who, as a cooperating witness in the BiH Prosecutor's Office this year, revealed how the highest political leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina enriched themselves through fraud and tax evasion. Čaušević revealed that Špirić, as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH, enabled the company Studen-Agran to be exempted from customs duties on sugar imports into BiH, thereby damaging the BiH budget by about 10 million KM in just one year!

The former director of the BiH ITA was arrested in June last year, along with a large number of customs officials. In the largest post-war investigation by the BiH Prosecutor's Office, Čaušević and other suspects are charged with organized crime, customs and tax evasion, money laundering, and abuse of position or authority in connection with the import of textile and other goods into Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Shortly after Čaušević's arrest, it became clear that he was just the tip of the iceberg, and that the highest political leadership of BiH was directly involved in organized crime in BiH. Among the names Čaušević mentioned to investigators is the name of state Minister of Finance Nikola Špirić, for whom Čaušević claims, based on his knowledge, is involved in several major affairs that have damaged the BiH budget by several million KM.

- Ilija Studen (co-owner of the company "Studen-Agran", "Bimal", and several other companies, editor's note) contacted me... His wish was for unrefined sugar to be... exempted from customs duties. I explained to him that this is under the jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers of BiH (at the time headed by Nikola Špirić, editor's note) – Čaušević confessed to investigators.

- Soon, indeed, (Ilija Studen) got the opportunity to import raw materials without customs duties in the amount of 50 million kg, which leads to damage of 10 million KM for BiH on an annual basis, or 60 million over six years – explained Čaušević.

This case led to a monopolistic position for the company "Studen-Agran" compared to other companies in BiH, bringing multi-million benefits to the company "Studen-Agran".

Špirić denied involvement in this multi-million criminal activity, justifying himself by saying that as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH, he could not exempt any legal entity from paying customs duties.

However, Kasumović says that there is more than enough evidence about this affair that it was precisely Špirić who coordinated the entire process, which ultimately cost the state budget several tens of millions of KM. He tried to inform the prosecutor's office about Špirić's criminal acts, filed two reports against Špirić, but neither of those reports was ever prosecuted.

Just two days after he reported Špirić for the illegal purchase of an official vehicle, he found him, he says, having coffee with the then-chairman of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council Milorad Novković.

- It is true that the BiH Parliament made a decision to exempt Studen from customs duties on the sugar he imported, but only because Špirić exerted pressure for the Parliament to make such a decision. He even raised some national issues until he succeeded in his plan – reveals Kasumović for Patria.

- Špirić tried to exempt Studen from customs duties on sugar even while he was a deputy in the BiH Parliament. He did not succeed then, but he did when he came to the Council of Ministers. Špirić's criminal activity can be easily proven even if you just look at the stenograms from the sessions of the BiH Parliament – says Kasumović.

Two and a half million KM in bribes to Špirić was, according to Kasumović's knowledge, personally given by Ilija Studen's brother, who at that time was the director of the Raiffeisen bank branch in Banja Luka?!