In the past four years, the Prosecutor’s Office of the Una-Sana Canton (USK) has filed 107 indictments against 146 people suspected of various corruption acts. Although the court has issued guilty verdicts in most cases, only a small number of them relate to high-level corruption, the USK Prosecutor’s Office confirmed.
According to Jasmina Husić, head of the Anti-Corruption Office of the USK Prosecutor’s Office, the complexity of investigations in corruption cases significantly slows down the processing.
“In corruption cases, the investigation itself is more complex due to the volume of work and evidence – from witness interviews, conducting special investigative actions, financial investigations, searches and seizure of documents, to lengthy and complex expert assessments, most often financial, but also construction, telephone and other,” Husić points out.
Special difficulties are created by the time gaps between the commission of the crime and its reporting, as well as changes in witness statements during the procedure.
Corruption is most often reported by citizens, but a significant number of reports also come from media reports and internal statements by employees that indicate criminal activities in collectives, explains Abdulah Keranović, head of the Department for the Prevention of Economic Crime of the USK Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“Corruption exists in all spheres of society. The most sensitive points are employment, tenders, public procurement and trading in influence. These are the segments that we pay special attention to,” emphasizes Keranović. However, he adds that many citizens decide to close their eyes to corruption out of fear or distrust in the judicial system.
Public officials, politicians and groups that stand behind them often try to discredit the work of prosecutors in charge of high-level corruption cases, he pointed out.
“It is in the interest of public office holders and the groups that support them to unjustifiably criticize the work of the USK Prosecutor’s Office in the media and in other ways, in order to divert public attention from their actions, while at the same time portraying themselves as victims of the system,” explains Husić.
Despite these challenges, the USC Prosecutor’s Office says it will continue to work on uncovering and prosecuting corrupt acts, regardless of pressure.
Corruption remains a deeply rooted problem in all segments of society, and the fight against it requires not only the determination of judicial institutions, but also more active participation of citizens in reporting irregularities and trust in the judicial system, Fena writes.
