SIPA

Police officials of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) started the operation codenamed “Pandora” in a wide area of B&H last night.

According to the operation plan, 40 out of 54 suspects who were subjects to investigations within this case have been deprived of liberty so far. Searches of buildings in around 40 locations in the area of Sarajevo, Ilidža, Istočno Sarajevo, Ilijaš, Kiseljak, Tuzla, Brčko, Gradačac, Srebrenik, Doboj, Doboj Jug, Tešanj, Čelić, Banja Luka, Brod, Gradiška, Kozarska Dubica, Čelinac, Kotor Varoš, Derventa, Prijedor, Bihać, Bijeljina and Zvornik are underway. The searches also included the premises of the Indirect Taxation Authority B&H.

These individuals are suspected of having committed the criminal offence of organised crime in conjunction with criminal offences of tax evasion or frauds, customs frauds, money laundering and abuse or office or authority regarding the import of textile and other goods to B&H.
The operation has included also former and current high-ranking officials of the Indirect Taxation Authority of B&H and customs officials.

Several individuals are suspected of having committed the criminal offences in an organised way since the establishment of the Indirect Taxation Authority of B&H (ITA B&H), in collaboration with some former and current high-ranking officials of the ITA, thus enabling certain physical and legal entities to acquire a monopolistic position in import and trade of textile and other goods in B&H and incurring a multimillion damage to the B&H Budget.

In today's operation, a certain number of individuals were deprived of liberty who in addition to the abuse of position in the customs procedures and clearance of textile and other goods, abused their office or authority by exempting from all or partial customs duties over 300 vehicles imported to B&H in the period 2011-2013.

The activities within this operation involving all capacities of SIPA have been carried out upon the orders of the Court B&H and Prosecutor’s Office B&H. Over 300 police officials are in the field. The operation is being carried out in cooperation with Republika Srpska MoI, Intelligence Security Agency B&H, Border Police B&H, Sarajevo Canton MoI, Zenica-Doboj MoI, Tuzla Canton MoI and Brčko District Police.

The main operation centre located in SIPA HQ is led by Director Goran Zubac with his closest associates and there are also sub-centres set up in SIPA regional offices in Tuzla and Banja Luka.

The individuals arrested in today’s operation have been brought to SIPA premises in Istočno Sarajevo, Tuzla and Banja Luka for criminal processing after which their further status will be decided upon the instructions of the competent prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office B&H. The searches resulted in discovery and seizure of considerable amounts of counterfeit banknotes in denomination of 100 EUR for which there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they come from international criminal channels.

After earlier SIPA operations “Bos“, “Elipsa“ and “Master“, “Pandora“ operation is the largest and most complex operation in the fight against financial crime and corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is a result of a years-long investigation carried out by SIPA under the supervision of Prosecutor’s Office B&H. This operation is one in a series of indicators that SIPA is determined and uncompromising in the fight against organised crime in B&H.