BOSNIA'S SOCIAL DEMOCRATS ACCUSE CROATIAN BUSINESSMAN OF BRIBERY

SARAJEVO, July 11 (Hina) - Bosnian Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija and the Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia- Herzegovina, Alija Behmen, have accused Croatian citizen Tino Bralo of offering them a bribe to help him obtain 42 million convertible marks he had in accounts in Bosnia, which are blocked because he failed to pay tax. #L# The Sarajevo-based "Oslobodjenje" daily quoted Lagumdzija as saying that Bralo had offered him "through a man known to the Social Democratic Party (which Lagumdzija heads)" half the amount he had in accounts in the country. Bralo reportedly complained of having been the victim of racketeering by Bosnian state and federal officials for years and asked the SDP to help him out of his problems. Lagumdzija said the SDP rejected Bralo's request without any consideration and immediately informed the state co-ordination team for the prevention of terrorism. Federation Prime Minister Behmen was requested to investigate Bralo's alleged offer. "Unfortunately, it proved to be true," said Lagumdzija, adding that proceedings were under way to discover and bring to justice "all those who got used to do whatever they like with the help of tax, customs, police, and media fraud". The bribe was offered as support for the SDP's election campaign, Lagumdzija said, adding that the Office of the High Representative had been informed about the case as well. Tino Bralo contacted the Sarajevo media, dismissing any responsibility for the accusations. "I do not know Mr. Lagumdzija or Mr. Behmen at all," he told the "Dnevni avaz" daily, claiming that the media stories about him were "foul fabrications". He confirmed though that he had 42 million marks in blocked accounts in Bosnia and announced that he would file a complaint with the European Court for Human Rights over his frozen accounts. (hina) rml