SARAJEVO, Sept 24 (Hina) - The Bosnian Federations prosecution has ordered an investigation against ten former senior officials and members of the Democratic Action Party (SDA) suspected of robbery and financial fraud regarding funds
donated for the defence of Bosnia during the war, Sarajevo's daily "Oslobodjenje" said on Tuesday.
SARAJEVO, Sept 24 (Hina) - The Bosnian Federations prosecution has
ordered an investigation against ten former senior officials and
members of the Democratic Action Party (SDA) suspected of robbery
and financial fraud regarding funds donated for the defence of
Bosnia during the war, Sarajevo's daily "Oslobodjenje" said on
Tuesday. #L#
According to the paper, three deputies of the federal prosecutor,
Marinko Jurcevic, last week signed an order to the interior
ministry to begin an investigation into allegations from a report
of the federal security and intelligence service (FOSS) which
claims that a group of former officials had been involved into
organised crime in the period from 1992 through 2002.
The FOSS report firstly accuses a controversial Sudanese, Fatih Al
Hassanein, who had during the war, managed the donations from
Vienna. The donations had mostly arrived from Arab countries to
assist Bosnian defence from Yugoslav aggression.
The narrowest circle of suspects include former deputy defence
minister Hasan Cengic, a weapons trader Senad Sahimpasic, former
interior ministers Bakri Alispahic and Alija Delimustafic, former
federal premier Edhem Bicakcic, an official of the AID secret
police, Irfan Ljevakovic, Fikret Abdic and two other persons.
With the cooperation of Austrian and German police, FOSS acquired
information that these people had transferred huge amounts of money
to their personal accounts, or the money had disappeared.
Frequently mentioned names in these transactions are those of Hasan
Cengic and Irfan Ljevakovic.
Even when it came to large amounts of money, the funds had been
transferred from hand to hand with only hand-written confirmations
on pieces of paper.
The federal prosecution believes that sixty percent of Foss's
accusations are backed by documents. Police are now expected to
investigate all people involved.
Among the people to be investigated will most probably be the war-
time Bosnian Army chief-of-staff, general Rasim Delic, and the
chief army logistic officer, Halid Cengic.
The war-time chairman of the Bosnian Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic
and his closest assistant at the time, Haris Silajdzic, said this
was an organised campaign to compromise the people who deserved the
most merit for defending Bosnia.
(hina) lml