IN THE CASE CODENAMED ‘INDEX’ CUSTODY MOTION FOR FIVE PERSONS SUSPECTED OF CORRUPTION AND ILLEGAL SALE OF UNIVERSITY DIPLOMAS AND DEGREES

The case prosecutor of the Special Department for Organised Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after questioning the suspects, sent a motion to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to order the following suspects into custody:

-         Edina Brutus, Damir Žuga, Elma Brutus, Kaja Imširović and Hajriz Bećirović.

The 30-day custody measure was proposed for the reasons described in Article 132 (1) (b) and (c) of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, that is, due to the risk that the suspects might hinder the investigation, conceal evidence and exert influence on witnesses or accomplices or commit a criminal offence again or complete the attempted one.

In respect of Mevludin Jašarević, prohibition measures will be proposed, which will, among other things, include the prohibition of meeting with witnesses and the prohibition of crossing the state border.

The charges against the aforementioned suspects are that they, in order to obtain illegal property benefits, issued diplomas of the International University in Goražde (IUG) on higher education from all three cycles of studies to a large number of persons in the territory of BiH, the Republic of Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Libya, Türkyie and other countries. During the investigation, evidence was gathered that the suspect Edina Brutus and other members of the group used to find persons interested in obtaining diplomas or purchasing them, within a completely illegal process, without the authorisation of the competent authorities in BiH, the Swiss Confederation and the Republic of Italy, and that they used to organise alleged classes in the territories of Switzerland and Italy for students from Italy.

After that, under the supervision of Edina Brutus, students’ information and data on their admission to the faculty were entered retroactively in the registers, as well as false information on their passed exams. In addition, professors’ signatures were forged and student files of diploma buyers and foreign students were made. After that, the deans and chancellors signed the certificates on graduation and diplomas on the acquired degree of higher education, although they were aware that the IUG did not have an authorisation to work outside the Bosnia-Podrinje Canton and Goražde. For these services or diplomas, they in most cases charged sums of money in the amounts that students would otherwise have to pay for official expenses of the studies.

They are suspected of having committed the criminal offence of Organised crime in conjunction with the criminal offence of Money laundering set out in the Criminal Code of BiH, as well as the criminal offences of special cases of forging documents, certification of untrue content, fraud, giving gifts and other forms of benefits, falsification or destruction of business or commercial books or documents and removal or destruction of the official seal or official files, abuse of office or official authority as set out in the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH.

The operation was carried out in the areas of Goražde, Sarajevo, Zenica, Travnik and Konjic under the supervision of the case prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH. SIPA police officers took part in the implementation of the operation, in cooperation with the police officers of the Federation Police Administration, the respective Ministries of the Interior of Sarajevo Canton, Zenica-Doboj Canton, Bosnia-Podrinje Canton, Central Bosnia Canton and Herzegovina-Neretva Canton.

During the operation, a significant amount of money, a large amount of documents, college diplomas, student files, documents relating to the financial operations of legal entities, stamps, computers and other items that can be used as evidence in further proceedings were seized. Temporary suspensions of transactions in the amount of more than BAM 350,000 were imposed for five natural persons.

The custody motion was sent to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where a hearing is expected to be scheduled based on the motion of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH.