The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has rejected the motion of the BiH’s Prosecutors Office to impose a ban on former Prosecutor Goran Salihovic, who is charged with the criminal offense of Abuse of Office or Authority.
The BiH Prosecutor’s Office requested from the Court to ban travel, seize travel documents, and ban Salihovic to contact with the witnesses.
They demanded this because, according to prosecutor Salihovic, after the indictment was filed, he became aware of the gravity of the crimes for which he was charged.
On December 14th, 2018 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment in the case of Goran Salihović, charging the accused with the criminal offense of Abuse of Office or Official Authority under Article 220(3) as read with Paragraph 1, of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CC BiH), all in conjunction with Article 54 of the CC BiH.
The indictment alleges that the accused Goran Salihović, as an official person in the institutions of BiH, an appointed judicial office holder – Chief Prosecutor at the BiH Prosecutor’s Office, between 1 February 2013 and 28 September 2016, knowing that the Decision on the Conditions and Modes of Using the Funds Earmarked for Representation and Gifts, dated 25 March 2011, regulates the rights, conditions and modes of using the funds earmarked for representation, acted in violation of Article 4 of the Decision prescribing the limits of expenditure in the country and abroad on a monthly basis. The Indictment further alleges that the accused, although also familiar with the Rulebook of the BiH Council of Ministers on the Use of Funds for Representation, which stipulates that the limit for the BiH Prosecutor’s Office is set at 20,000 KM for representation expenses on the annual level, in violation of the interests of proper operation and functioning of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office, knowingly acted in contravention of the foregoing provisions and, abusing his official authority, ordered the Head of the Section for Material-Financial Affairs to have BiH Prosecutor’s Office funds, previously earmarked for other purposes, transferred towards the representation expenses.
The indictment, inter alia, states that in this way, the accused, as an official person in the institutions of BiH, abusing his office or official authority, acquired for himself property gain exceeding 50,000 BAM.
It is further alleged that Goran Salihović, on 29 April 2015, during his return from an official trip to Paris, together with his associates and bodyguard from the Directorate for Coordination of BiH Police Bodies, for the purpose of tourist visit to the city, despite the warnings that they might miss their return flight, was eventually late and did miss the flight for which he and his associates possessed return plane tickets, which resulted in the fact that they had to buy new plane tickets, which at the time Goran Salihović paid with his own money, but upon return from the official trip he requested from the Head of the Material and Financial Affairs and ordered him to refund the amount paid for the new plane tickets in the amount of 3,874.50 BAM, although he knew full well that it was because of his actions that all of them missed their return flight. The amount paid for the new tickets – 3,874.50 BAM – was ultimately refunded by the BiH Prosecutor’s Office, after which the Directorate for Coordination of BiH Police Bodies reimbursed the BiH Prosecutor’s Office for their employee in the amount of 1,291.50 BAM.
Ultimately, the accused damaged the budget of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office for the amount of 2,583.03 KM, and the budget of the Directorate for Coordination of BiH Police Bodies for the amount of 1,291.50 BAM, while acquiring for himself property gain in the amount of 3,874.50 BAM.
(Photo:CIN)
