Influence peddling in the judiciary: Halil Lagumdžija negotiates with Mato Tadić about handing over the Federal USKOK to HDZ BiH

(Patria) - President of the VSTV Halil Lagumdžija intends, in coordination with HDZ BiH, to appoint Hrvoje Čabrajić as head of the Federal USKOK, Istraga.ba reports.

The goal is to prevent the Special Department for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime (the so-called USKOK) from investigating corruption and crime in cantons controlled by HDZ BiH. The main coordinator on behalf of HDZ is former judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH Mato Tadić, who, as confirmed by photographs in possession of Istraga, has been meeting with VSTV President Halil Lagumdžija in recent days.

Istraga.ba has managed to uncover the entire plan of Lagumdžija and Tadić and presents all details below. The “trade” involves three positions – USKOK, the Center for Education of Judges and Prosecutors, and the VSTV Secretariat.

Federal USKOK

Hrvoje Čabrajić is a prosecutor at the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton. After the conducted procedure (interviews and evaluations), the federal sub-council of the VSTV ranked Čabrajić third among the most successful candidates for the position of head of the Federal USKOK. Ahead of Čabrajić on the ranking list are Samir Selimović, as the second-ranked candidate, and Pavo Radoš, as the first-ranked candidate. Radoš earned the highest number of points thanks to his tenure in the judiciary. However, since he essentially has no notable results, Radoš will likely be eliminated from the race for head of the Special Department for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime of the Prosecutor's Office of the Federation of BiH.

Thus, the remaining candidates are Samir Selimović, as the second-ranked, and Hrvoje Čabrajić, as the third-ranked. Given that the Special Department has jurisdiction to investigate crime across the entire territory of the Federation of BiH, HDZ leaders are seeking to install a candidate close to the party in this position, who would continue to bypass the West Herzegovina Canton, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, or Canton 10 when it comes to prosecuting corruption. To better understand the importance of the Special Department, we will briefly recall Transparency International's data on corruption prosecution. Specifically, over five years, from the beginning of 2018 to the end of 2022, the Prosecutor's Office of the West Herzegovina Canton in Široki Brijeg filed nine indictments for criminal offenses – corruption and economic crime.

Only in one case was a prison sentence imposed, while in five cases – suspended sentences were handed down. And that would be it regarding the fight against corruption in the West Herzegovina Canton, which is firmly ruled by HDZ BiH. For comparison, over four years, 2018-2021, the Prosecutor's Office of the Una-Sana Canton filed 72 indictments for corruption and abuse of position, while, for example, the Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton filed 100 indictments for corruption in 2021 alone. To keep these ratios unchanged, HDZ wants to establish control over the Federal USKOK. Since Pavo Radoš has no chance of being appointed, the party of Dragan Čović supports Hrvoje Čabrajić, deputy chief prosecutor of the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office, as a candidate. Therefore, Mato Tadić launched an action ahead of the VSTV session, aiming to gather enough votes for Čabrajić. Halil Lagumdžija has direct influence over VSTV member Saša Sarajlić. However, it is questionable whether he will succeed in convincing other VSTV members to give preference to the third-ranked candidate over the second-ranked Selimović.

CEST (Center for Education of Judges and Prosecutors of the Federation of BiH)

The Center for Education of Judges and Prosecutors of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was established in 2003 in Sarajevo. The Center operates as an independent public institution and carries out the tasks of continuous education of judges and prosecutors of judicial bodies in the Federation of BiH, cooperating with judicial institutions of BiH, faculties, and other domestic and international organizations. The director of CEST is appointed by the Management Board, which has nine members. The Federal Ministry of Justice has two members on the Management Board of CEST. Currently, these are Mato Tadić, former judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH, who as a pensioner advises HDZ's Federal Minister of Justice Vedran Škobić, and Assistant Minister of Justice of the Federation of BiH Damir Šapina.



Management Board of CEST of the Federation of BiH

Thus, Tadić and Šapina, as cadres close to HDZ BiH, will directly appoint the director of CEST. The procedure for selecting the director of CEST is underway, and after the conducted tests, Muhamed Mujakić is the first-ranked candidate, while Hajro Pošković, deputy director of the VSTV BiH Secretariat, is the second-ranked. VSTV President Halil Lagumdžija wants to install Pošković as director of CEST, in order to allow Admir Suljagić, the “ruler of the judiciary,” to remain in the position of director of the VSTV Secretariat.

VSTV Secretariat

The Council's Secretariat has a director and a deputy director, who are responsible to the Council. The director and deputy director are appointed and dismissed by the Council in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Civil Service in Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The mandate of the director and the mandate of the deputy director are limited to a period of four years. The mandate of the director and deputy director can be renewed every four years.

The director is responsible for the overall performance of professional, financial, and administrative tasks of the Secretariat, for the execution of the budget adopted by the Council, as well as for other tasks decided by the Council.

The mandate of the current director of the VSTV Secretariat, Admir Suljagić, expires at the end of February this year, while the mandate of his deputy, Hajro Pošković, expires next year.

Suljagić, Lagumdžija, Pošković

The competition procedure for the selection of the director of the Secretariat is underway. If Pošković were appointed director of CEST, Suljagić would have no one to replace him. Therefore, Lagumdžija, in cooperation with Mato Tadić, wants to appoint Admir Suljagić as acting director of the VSTV Secretariat at the same session where the head of USKOK would be appointed.

After that, a competition would be announced for the vacant deputy position currently held by Hajro Pošković, and that position would go to Damir Šapina, assistant minister of justice of the Federation of BiH. Simply put, Šapina and Mato Tadić would appoint the second-ranked Hajro Pošković as director of CEST, and then Halil Lagumdžija, before leaving his position as VSTV member at the beginning of February, would appoint Šapina as deputy director of the VSTV Secretariat, and Admir Suljagić as acting director of the Secretariat.

This entire trade, as we said, would also include the appointment of the head of the Special Department for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime of the Prosecutor's Office of the Federation of BiH. As an argument, Lagumdžija and Tadić would use “equal ethnic representation” in judicial institutions.