11 people arrested, seven from Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH and two from BiH Border Police

BiH Border Police on April 16, 2015, in the morning hours in the areas of Laktaši, Novi Grad, Bosanska Gradiška, Banja Luka, Srbac, Bosanska Krupa, Kozarska Dubica, Zenica and Kladanj carried out the Operational Action "Mreža" (Network) aimed at fighting corruption offenses and smuggling, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

Based on the orders of the Court of BiH and the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, 11 searches of facilities were carried out, during which 11 people were deprived of liberty. Among those deprived of liberty are seven customs officers of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH (U. V., R. G., T. E., P. B., U. S., D. D., A. K.) who are suspected of having committed the criminal offenses: "association for the commission of criminal offenses", "abuse of official position or authority", "receiving gifts or other benefits", and "smuggling" in order to gain unlawful property benefits in the past period, as well as two citizens of BiH (Č. D. and K. S.) due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that they committed the criminal offenses "smuggling" and "giving gifts or other benefits".

Due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that they committed corrupt criminal offenses, two members of the Gradiška Border Police Unit (J. R. and N. M.) were also deprived of liberty. The Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH provided support to the BiH Border Police in the activities of the Operational Action "Mreža". This action is a continuation of the BiH Border Police's ongoing activities in the fight against corruption.

The Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH stated that they expect that the full legality of the procedures during the import of certain goods into BiH, such as vehicles, technical equipment, and textiles, will be established in the entire procedure.

- At this moment, we do not wish to mention any names, but we will wait for the Prosecutor's Office of BiH to complete its part of the work. If any officer of the Indirect Taxation Authority is ordered into custody, they will be immediately suspended from their position in accordance with the current legislation. In this regard, we must wait for the final outcome of the procedure, which should be completed by the Prosecutor's Office of BiH.

In order to fight corruption, in every public announcement, the Authority has always called on all citizens and taxpayers to report any information about tax evasion and VAT or illegal behavior of our customs officers and tax inspectors. We repeat this call on this occasion and remind you that it can be made free of charge by calling 080 02 06 07.