The Bosnian government approved the nomination of Milorad Majkic on August 26 and the decision became effective on October 6.
The newspaper said that the appointment had not gone smoothly because Majkic, who reportedly also owns several casinos in Belgrade and is involved in diamond trade, turned out to be a person of dubious past.
Oslobodjenje said that the Zagreb branch of Interpol had supplied the Bosnian authorities with information showing that Majkic, a citizen of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro, had committed multiple criminal offences in Croatia from 1975 to 1983, including rape, fraud, forgery of documents and money, bribery, and disorderly conduct, as a result of which he was sentenced to prison terms and fined.
The general manager of the Belgrade-based foreign trade firm Genex, Milorad Savicevic, said two years ago that Majkic had enjoyed the support of Slobodan Milosevic and paramilitary groups operating in Serbia, the newspaper said.
The article concluded by saying that despite the controversial information surrounding Majkic, the position of the Bosnian Foreign Ministry was that there were no legal obstacles to his appointment as honorary consul of the Congo.