Illegally registering and reselling real estate property of deceased
More resultsIntroduction
The case involves a group of over 40 people and legal entities, including a former interior minister, judge, prosecutor, lawyers, court expert witnesses and a public notary, who are charged with organised crime, abuse of office or authority, violation of the law by the judge, money laundering, forgery, fraud and assisting an offender after the commission of a criminal offence. The key defendant, former interior minister Alija Delimustafić, is charged with organising a criminal group that illegally registered and resold the real estate of deceased persons in Sarajevo Canton, among other crimes.
- Country
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Sector
- Public institutions
- Offence
- Abuse of official position or authority
- Phase
- 1st instance procedure
Description of the case
The case involves a group of over 40 people and legal entities, including a former interior minister, judge, prosecutor, lawyers, court expert witnesses and a public notary, who are charged with organised crime, abuse of office or authority, violation of the law by the judge, money laundering, forgery, fraud and assisting an offender after the commission of a criminal offence. The key defendant, former interior minister Alija Delimustafić, is charged with organising a criminal group that illegally registered and resold the real estate of deceased persons in Sarajevo Canton, among other crimes.
The indictment claims that in court cases led by judge Lejla Fazlagić-Pašić, the real estate of deceased persons was registered to members of the group and their relatives. The properties were then sold to others. Through these illegal acts, group members gained illegal benefits of over KM10 million (€5 million). The members of the group abused their official position in the court administration to ensure that properties of people who had died could be sold and entered in the court’s property register illegally.
The defendants were indicted on 6 October 2017. Delimustafić was in custody but has paid bail and is now under house arrest. Judge Fazlagic has fled to Croatia.
Applicable corruption offence
According to the indictment of 6 October 2017:
- Abuse of official position or authorisation (Article 383 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Forgery (Article 373)
- Fraud (Article 294)
- Money laundering (Article 272)
- Giving false testimony (Article 348)
- Assistance to the perpetrator after perpetration of the criminal offence (Article 346)
Other laws breached
None
Suspects’ institutional affiliation
- Alija Delimustafic was interior minister at the beginning of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Lejla Fazlagić-Pašić was a judge at the Municipal Court of Sarajevo.
- Milena Rajić is a suspended judge at the Municipal Court of Sarajevo, involved in another corruption case, “Kurir”.
- Džemal Karić is a suspended prosecutor at the Cantonal Court of Sarajevo.
Date of offending
From 2009 to 2016 (see here)
Sector affected
Public institutions
Court
The case is being heard before the Cantonal Court of Sarajevo (see here).
Current stage of the case in criminal procedure
The case is in the first instance procedure before the Cantonal Court of Sarajevo. However, the trial has not yet begun. It has been postponed several times for various reasons, for example, the defendants did not show up.
Procedural history
In November 2016, the defendants were arrested after a complex investigation. The Prosecutor’s Office of Sarajevo Canton issued the indictment on 6 October 2017. The Cantonal Court of Sarajevo confirmed the indictment on 12 October 2017.
The case is currently in the first instance procedure. In January 2018, the court confirmed the indictment against one additional member of the group. Subsequently, on 8 May 2019, the court confirmed the indictment against a further member of the group (see here).
In August 2019, Delimustafić was released from custody and put under house arrest, after bail for a property value of over KM1 million (€500,000) was accepted.
Obstacles
Defendant Lejla Fazlagić-Pašić became aware of the investigation and escaped to Croatia before the indictment. She has been in Croatia for over three years. Although the Constitutional Court decided she should be extradited to Bosnia, the Croatian Minister of Justice has not signed the extradition warrant yet (see here, here and here).
According to media reports, she is a citizen of both Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The trial has been postponed 19 times so far, usually because of the health condition of one of the defendants, as only Alija Delimustafić is within the court’s reach. Because of the delays, at least KM350,000 (€175,000) in damages has been caused to the budget (see here and here).
Charges pressed by the prosecutor and the actual case including penalties requested
- Abuse of official position or authorisation (Article 383 of the Criminal Code)
- Forgery (Article 373)
- Fraud (Article 294)
- Money laundering (Article 272)
- Giving false testimony (Article 348)
- Assistance to the perpetrator after perpetration of the criminal offence (Article 346)
The Prosecutor’s Office asked the court to impose sanctions in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to impose temporary measures for the defendants and prohibit them from leaving their neighbourhoods (see here).
Applicable minimum and maximum penalty
- Abuse of official position or authorisation: minimum 3 years (Article 383 of the Criminal Code)
- Forgery: 3 to 5 years (Article 373)
- Fraud: 6 months to 5 years (Article 294)
- Money laundering: 1 to 10 years (Article 272)
- Giving false testimony: 6 months to 10 years (Article 348)
- Assistance to the perpetrator after perpetration of the criminal offence: 1 to 10 years (Article 346)
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