Prosecutor's Office of BiH verifying allegations from criminal charges filed by SIPA, UIO, SPS unions due to failure to adopt the Budget for 2025

(Patria) - The charges, received mid-month from the union organizations of police agencies, have been assigned to a prosecutor for review, and actions are being taken to verify the validity of the allegations, according to the Prosecutor's Office of BiH's response to Patria's inquiry.

The criminal charges were filed by the Union of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), the Union of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, and the Union of the Service for Foreigners' Affairs against the Minister of Finance and Treasury of BiH, Srđan Amidžić, the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH, Borjana Krišto, and the members of the Presidency of BiH, Željko Komšić, Željka Cvijanović, and Denis Bećirović on September 16.

"The accused, in the period from October 1, 2024, to date, have 'consciously violated laws and other regulations and acted negligently in the performance of their official duties,' causing damage of at least 25 million KM to 22,500 employees in BiH institutions.

The three unions claim that the responsible parties failed to adhere to the legally established deadlines for the adoption of the budget of BiH institutions for 2025, which resulted in a reduction of salaries for civil servants and the inability to implement amendments to the Law on Salaries and Benefits, especially for employees with secondary and higher education.

"This is not a matter of political disagreement, but an obvious and recurring disregard for legal obligations," the charges state.

The unions state that this has deprived employees in state institutions of their rights to fair remuneration for work, which is also a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The criminal charges accuse them of the criminal offense of "negligent performance of duty" under Article 224 of the Criminal Code of BiH, and the unions demand that the Prosecutor's Office of BiH open an investigation, determine the exact amount of damage through financial expertise, and initiate proceedings against those responsible.

According to the unions, the accused failed to submit the draft budget to the Ministry of Finance and Treasury by October 1, the Council of Ministers to the Presidency by October 15, and the Presidency to the BiH Parliament by November 1, 2024. The budget was only sent to the parliamentary procedure in August 2025, after months of delays, and has not yet been adopted.