Bosnian prosecutors said probing Islamic charities' links with sugar scandal
BBC Monitoring - August 16, 2004

Excerpt from report by M. Cubro: "Prosecutor's Office probing Islamic humanitarian workers", published by Bosnian Serb newspaper Nezavisne novine on 14 August

Sarajevo: On Friday 13 August a source close to the B-H Prosecutor's Office confirmed to Nezavisne novine that the Prosecutor's Office was investigating the involvement of Islamic humanitarian organizations in "the sugar scandal" in Bosnia-Hercegovina.

"The investigation into sugar imports into Bosnia-Hercegovina also comprises the role of the Islamic humanitarian organizations in the 'sugar scandal'. These organizations imported sugar because they needed it for the soup kitchens. We are trying to obtain the original documentation for the sugar imports to determine whether the imported quantities matched the actual needs of these humanitarian organizations," our source said.

The investigation is focusing on determining the exact quantities of sugar imported. If these exceeded the realistic needs, the investigation should determine whether it ended up on the black market and where the profits from it went.

Rudolf Udiljak, head of the Customs Fraud Prevention Department in the former B-H Federation Customs Administration, has confirmed that his department is also taking part in this investigation.

"The investigation is under way, but I cannot tell you anything other than that we are checking how much sugar was imported and whether the imported quantities corresponded to the actual needs of Bosnia-Hercegovina. The state prosecutor is in charge of the investigation and we are just playing our part in the work," Udiljak said.

He added that some humanitarian organizations had been importing sugar, but he refused to say whether the Prosecutor's Office was checking the role of these organizations in the "sugar scandal". The B-H Federation Finance Police several months ago launched an investigation into the financial operations of humanitarian organizations, that is, their links with the financing of terrorism. Passage omitted

Around 10 days ago European Anticorruption Office investigators also launched an investigation to determine what companies imported sugar into Bosnia-Hercegovina, sold it in the black market, and collected subsidies from the European Union. The investigation should determine whether the sugar imports were merely fictitious, that is, if sugar had been registered instead of the high-tariff goods that were actually imported.

The customs duty on sugar is much lower than that for high-tariff goods. The internal affairs department of the B-H Indirect Taxation Administration is investigating the involvement of customs officers in this matter.

SOURCE: Nezavisne novine, Banja Luka, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 14 Aug 04 p 5

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BBC Monitoring Europe - Political
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