SIPA

This morning (31/3/2016), acting upon orders of the Court and Prosecutor’s Office B&H, police officials of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) started an operation in the area of Bijeljina, Banja Luka and Zvornik.

Ten individuals were deprived of liberty due to grounded suspicion of having committed the criminal offence of organised crime in conjunction with criminal offences of abuse of office or authority, abuse of authority in economy, money laundering, forging or destroying official documents, failure to report preparation of a criminal offence and forging or destroying business or commercial records or documents, as provided for by the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska.

These individuals are suspected of having committed, as members of a criminal group, numerous irregularities in business operations of Bobar Bank primarily in granting several-million loans, as well as illegal bank guarantees for various activities in violation of the procedures and guarantees stipulated by the RS Law on Banks, and thus having inflicted damage and facilitated the acquisition of unlawful material gain in the amount of about 123 million KM. 

Police officials of SIPA are searching three locations in the area of Bijeljina and Banja Luka with the aim of finding and seizing documentation and other items that may serve as evidence in further proceedings.

The individuals deprived of liberty will be brought to SIPA premises for criminal processing after which their further status will be decided upon the instructions of the acting prosecutor of B&H Prosecutor’s Office.

Video coverage of “Lavina” Operation is available here.