The European Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that it has placed six people, including three public officials from Bosnia and Herzegovina, under investigation for alleged cross-border corruption in the construction project of the Pan-European Highway Corridor connecting Hungary and eastern Croatia with Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Adriatic Sea. “The investigation concerns the 35-kilometer section between Medakovo and Poprikus, which is part of a four-million-euro consultancy project as part of a wider 340-million-euro motorway construction project,” the EPPO said in a statement.
The entire project is being financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) with 87 percent, and the state budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the remaining 13 percent.
“The investigation was launched after the EIB reported to the EPPO suspicions of manipulation in the procurement process of consultancy services related to the motorway, allegedly favoring an Italian company based in Verona,” the EPPO said in a statement.
BiH media reported that an investigation is underway against the director of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) Motorway, Denis Lasić, Asmir Dževlan, the executive director of the FBiH Motorway for design and construction, as well as the head of the procurement department of that public company and Lasić’s advisor Katica Vranjković. The investigation also includes Erdal Trhulj, a consultant on several FBiH Motorway projects.
The EPPO statement says that the investigation conducted by the Carabinieri in Venice has established that three public officials of the BiH contracting authority allegedly took coordinated actions to secure the contract for the Italian company. “It is suspected that the officials replaced the evaluation committee, reworked the technical evaluation report and ordered the company to adjust its financial proposal in order to obtain the highest ranking. This was allegedly done in exchange for financial and other benefits,” the document says.
In September 2024, it is alleged, the offices and other premises of the suspects in Italy were searched to collect evidence.
“In 2025, close cooperation with the competent judicial and law enforcement authorities in BiH enabled additional interrogations and other investigative measures in Sarajevo in coordination with the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA). Suspects in BiH were recently informed of the charges against them and of their procedural rights,” the statement said.
