In the continuation of the trial of Spiro Subotic and Ahmed Besirevic, who are charged with abuse of official position or authority and receiving gifts and other forms of benefit, the State Prosecution witness said that he admitted his guilt, and that he abused the trust of indictee Subotic.
Zoran Jovanovic said that during his many years of work on the export and import of goods, he met many customs officers and officials, and with some of them, such as Subotic, he made very close contact, and that based on that, it was easier for him topass customs.
“When Spiro saw me, he asked me what I had. I said that ‘a friend from Switzerland drives ‘zbirnjak’, it’s our kind of sign for second-hand goods sent from the diaspora, bags and things like that. He let us go, I abused his trust then and passed, “ toldJovanovic, who was transporting hookah aromas for the second time.
Namely, he stressed that he did two exports of hookah aromas, the first time by agreement, and the second time with interceptions and threats that he had done the job.
“In May, there was an interception, I was told that the vehicle is waiting and that I have to do the job. They told me: ‘You have a family, we know them all, you have to do it,” Jovanovic recalled the threats for which he made another export, and the black Passat that intercepted him followed him during the takeover of the vehicle and the transport of the goods.
Jovanovic said that he often treated the customs officers to lunch, leaving the money with the waiters or giving some of them to treat themselves. During the second disputed export, he stated, he gave Subotic 200 BAM to be treated.
“It is a classic move, an unwritten rule here in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), at all crossings,” he noted.
Spiro Subotic is accused that, as an official in the institutions of BiH, by using his position and authority, ie not performing his official duties, he obtained benefits for himself and others, and caused damage to the budget of BiH, received a gift for himself and others to does not do what he would have to do, that is, mediate in such bribery.
The indictment charges Ahmed Besirevic, as an official in the institutions of BiH, by using his position and authority, ie by not performing his official duties, to obtain benefit for another and damage the budget of BiH.
The expert witness in economics presented parts of the findings she made on the basis of documents and legal regulations in the country.
She explained that the goods in the first import from Serbia amounted to slightly more than 21.000 BAM, while in the second from Turkey they amounted to close to 23.000 BAM.
In case the mentioned goods crossed the border legally, they were obliged to pay customs duties, excise and value added tax (VAT) in the amount of 271.176.39 BAM, or 337.327.01 BAM for other imports, Detektor writes.
E.Dz.
