WHAT IS THE STATE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE DOING? Investigation of the TK Prosecutor's Office in the 'AU in BiH and Prcić' case in its final phase

(Patria) - The Prosecutor's Office of the Tuzla Canton has not yet completed the investigation into the case of the American University in BiH, whose founder is Denis Prcić, who has the status of a suspect.

“In the case „American University in BiH“ numerous investigative actions are being carried out and work is being done on gathering the necessary evidence. This is a complex investigation that is in its final phase. So, the founder of AU in BiH, Denis Prcić, is still in the capacity of a suspect, and no final prosecutorial decision has been made in the case,” they said from the TK Prosecutor's Office for the Patria News Agency.

Given that Denis Prcić is very often in Sarajevo, the TK Prosecutor's Office confirmed that no restraining measures are in effect in this case.

The AU in BiH case is one of the most complex cases in the judiciary, given that a large number of students have been harmed, both those in Tuzla and in Sarajevo, who ultimately reported Prcić, and numerous individuals from the security, military, police, and intelligence sectors in BiH are involved, who knew that classes at AU in BiH were taking place in Sarajevo without a work permit because AU in BiH was never registered in the Sarajevo Canton.

What has been established through checks and according to the statements of the injured students is that certain departments did not even exist at AU in BiH in Tuzla, but classes were held exclusively in the Sarajevo Canton, where AU in BiH never had a work permit. Students who thought they were attending AU in BiH are today without any student status, have lost their right to healthcare, and have also lost the money they paid for years for their education.

In the Sarajevo Canton, only the American School of Economics (ASE) had a work permit, with one licensed program in International Finance. However, in recent years, students were not enrolled in ASE but exclusively in other study programs of AU in BiH that did not even officially exist.

The acting prosecutor of the Tuzla Canton Prosecutor's Office in June 2021 examined Denis Prcić, the owner and founder of the American University in BiH, as a suspect for the criminal offense of abuse of position and authority, within the framework of the case opened in November 2020 based on a report by several AU in BiH students against Prcić.

He was reported to the TK Prosecutor's Office by a larger group of students, from whom he demanded an additional 1,500 KM for the alleged reaccreditation of AU in BiH, which he conditioned on the issuance of diplomas. Some agreed to pay and received diplomas, while students who refused to pay did not receive diplomas, nor any other documentation to resolve their status. AU in BiH has not been operating for two years, and Prcić's lawyer at the Court of BiH said that a liquidation process has been initiated.

In this case, more than 130 people have been heard, and in addition to investigative actions, the TK Prosecutor's Office has requested assistance from institutions of the United States of America to gather certain evidence relevant to the criminal proceedings.

The TK Prosecutor's Office is also cooperating with the Prosecutor's Office of BiH and the Prosecutor's Office of the Sarajevo Canton, where cases regarding the American University in BiH and Prcić's illegal actions have also been opened.

When it comes to the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, an investigation is being conducted into the issuance of a diploma to the first man of the OSA, Osman Mehmedagić, who, after the annulment of one university diploma about which a court decision is still pending, submitted another, but this time from AU in BiH. The investigation showed that Mehmedagić was subsequently entered into the faculty's registry books, which is a forgery and a criminal offense.

The investigation of the State Prosecutor's Office has also opened other questions about the very operation of Prcić's university in Sarajevo, where he never had a work permit (it was founded in TK), and he enrolled hundreds of students, while among the professors and deans were people from the top of politics, defense, and security. Many of them today do not want their names to be associated with AU in BiH or claim that they have had no connection with Prcić for years.

Although Prcić was arrested in June 2021, when he was also placed in custody, which was later lifted, and house arrest was ordered, followed by restraining measures, the acting prosecutor Oleg Čavka has not filed an indictment, even though he announced it back in September 2021. In this case, Osman Mehmedagić, the director of OSA, and two other individuals who helped Prcić are also suspects.