Trapara studied in France for three years, and for the same period proves work experience on the basis of which he was appointed director

The KS Government, led by Prime Minister Edin Forto, on August 5, 2021, gave consent to the acting Management Board of the Public Institution "Cantonal Institute for the Protection of Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage Sarajevo" for the appointment of Boris Trapara as director.

The documentation that Trapara submitted during his application for the competition also includes a certificate of work experience dated June 15, 2021, from the company Marvel d.o.o. Istočno Sarajevo. The competition requirement was five years of work experience after obtaining a university degree in a field closely related to the Institute's activities. The competition for director was announced on June 9, 2021.

What is problematic in Trapara's documentation is that the period of alleged employment at Marvel coincides with his studies in France, where, according to his biography, he was from November 2016 to October 2019. The certificate he submitted from Marvel covers the period from January 1, 2017, to November 30, 2019.

According to confirmed information from Patria, as well as an insight into the inspection report of the inspection carried out at the company Marvel on May 22, 2023, it was clearly established that Boris Trapara is not registered in the records of employed workers.

"The employer did not provide evidence that Boris Trapara was employed at 'Marvel' d.o.o. Istočno Novo Sarajevo under any form of employment contract. Based on the above, it is clear that the employer did not present evidence to this body that the said person was previously employed by the employer, nor that they are currently employed by the employer in question, and therefore no documentation regarding his employment status with the said employer was presented," states the letter from the Republican Administration for Inspection Affairs Banja Luka.

The Republican Administration for Inspection Affairs conducted supervision at Marvel

Additional documentation from the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund of Republika Srpska, Branch Istočno Sarajevo, dated July 20, 2022, shows that Boris Trapara was registered as an insured person in the period from July 15, 2013, to February 1, 2014, and as a self-employed insured person through a service contract from March 15, 2019, to April 15, 2019, and from March 1, 2020, to March 9, 2020. Although it is true that work seniority was not required by the competition, but work experience, these data raise questions about his employment at Marvel. Even if he was employed under a service contract, as Trapara claims to some of his friends, the company Marvel was obliged to pay the corresponding taxes to the PIO Fund. However, it was determined that there are no traces of this.

Data on Trapara and the period related to Marvel are not in the PIO Fund of RS

The members of the Institute's Management Board clearly believed the submitted documentation and were not obliged to verify the truthfulness of the work experience certificates. But this does not mean that investigative bodies cannot do so now.
In addition to the report at the KS Prosecutor's Office, which confirmed for Patria that a final prosecutorial decision is pending, there is also a report at the District Prosecutor's Office of Istočno Sarajevo. Given that there is a strike in the judiciary in RS, they told us in response to an official inquiry about what they are undertaking in this specific case that we will "have to wait a little".

If the investigative bodies determine that the proof of work experience at Marvel is untrue and that a false certificate was issued to him, it means that Trapara does not meet the competition requirements and can no longer be the director of the Institute. Then, the Management Board, the KS Government, and the relevant Ministry of Culture and Sports will have to react.

Otherwise, according to the documentation reviewed by the Management Board, Boris Trapara submitted six different work experience certificates which, in total, represent the five years required by the competition. The largest part of this "work experience" is based on the certificate from Marvel, amounting to two years and 11 months.

The final word on this case will be given by the Prosecutor's Offices of KS and Istočno Sarajevo, and it will be determined whether a criminal offense has been committed, where the original certificate from Marvel is located, who gave false testimony, how Trapara knows if the director of Marvel was at the Prosecutor's Office...

It is no secret that Trapara is close to the structures of Naša stranka (Our Party), and that he is friends with the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Nasiha Pozder. They often post joint pictures and praise each other on social media. It was precisely from the quota of Naša stranka that Trapara was appointed to the position of director of the Institute.

(A. Vrabac)