On 8 February 2024 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the Indictment in the case of Miloš Lučić et al. (S1 2 K 044522 24 Ko), charging the accused Miloš Lučić, Siniša Papaz, Dalibor Šehovac and Mirko Ristović with the criminal offenses of Abuse of Office or Official Authority under Article 220, Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CC BiH) and Embezzlement in Office under Article 221(1) CC BiH, as read with Articles 53, 54 and 31 of the Code.
The accused Miloš Lučić is, inter alia, charged that between May 2020 and 6 December 2022, in his capacity as an official person, specifically an official in the executive authorities of BiH – Minister of Human Rights and Refugees at the BiH Council of Ministers, he knowingly and willingly used his official authority of being authorized to use entertainment allowance, by proceeding in contravention of the provisions defining and regulating the expenditure and use of the Ministry’s funds and materiel in order to obtain ill-gotten gain, by way of false presentation of the entertainment allowance costs, food and beverage consumption at the Ministry’s expense. The accused Miloš Lučić, together with the accused Siniša Papaz, who as the owner of one of the catering facilities used for the given purpose, upon previous arrangement, knowingly and willingly obtained a substantial amount of various fiscal invoices that had already been paid, took them over and falsely presented as Ministry’s entertainment allowance costs.
The accused Miloš Lučić is charged that, by the acts described in Count 2 of the confirmed Indictment, during 2021 and 2022, in the same official capacity of an official person, he knowingly and willingly overstepped the bounds of his official authority by using for private purposes an official vehicle owned by the Ministry, which had been assigned to him for use and management in line with the designated purpose, so he repeatedly gave the vehicle for use to unauthorized persons, in which way he made it possible for them to obtain ill-gotten gain in the form of their use of the vehicle to the detriment of the BiH budget, in a yet undetermined amount.
The accused Miloš Lučić is also charged that, in his capacity as an official person, together with the accused Dalibor Šehovac and Mirko Ristović, as accessories, he knowingly and willingly used his authority regarding the payment of official vehicle maintenance costs by reporting alleged repairs and spare parts replacement in car service shops with which the Ministry had no contracts concluded, and upon previous arrangement he gave instructions to the accused Šehovac and Ristović regarding the making of invoices bearing false data, in which way he obtained ill-gotten gain for himself and others.
In addition to the above, the confirmed Indictment charges the accused Miloš Lučić that between May 2020 and 6 December 2022, in the same official capacity of an official person, he knowingly and willingly used his official authority and repeatedly used a Ministry’s e-card to purchase fuel for the official vehicle by having his drivers and persons hired as his security detail tank up private vehicles, and then submitted the invoices for reimbursement to the Ministry, in which way he obtained ill-gotten gain for himself and others.
Therefore, regarding the criminal offense of Abuse of Office and Official Authority under Article 220 CC BiH, the confirmed Indictment charges the accused Miloš Lučić, that he, as an official person in the executive authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by using his official position and official authority, and by overstepping his official authority, obtained ill-gotten gain for himself and others in the amount of 68,541.71 BAM, of which amount Siniša Papaz helped him gain 15,903.50 BAM and Dalibor Šehovac 12,195.00 BAM, while Miloš Lučić obtained to Mirko Ristović the ill-gotten gain in the amount of 2,080.00 BAM, in which he was assisted by Mirko Ristović, and obtained ill-gotten gain to others in the form of their use of an official vehicle, thus causing damage to the BiH budget in a yet undetermined amount, by which the total damage caused to the BiH budget amounted to 68,940.35 BAM.
The confirmed Indictment also charges the accused Miloš Lučić with the criminal offense of Embezzlement in Office under Article 221 CC BiH, in that, by acting as an official person, with the aim of obtaining ill-gotten gain, he appropriated a Samsung tablet, which has meanwhile been seized from him, as well as an ASUS laptop, both the ownership of the Ministry, which had been entrusted to the accused Miloš Lučić for official purposes, whereby he obtained for himself an ill-gotten gain in the amount of 727.75 BAM, which is the amount of damage caused to the BiH budget under this Count.
