Lijanović's corrupt legacy: Numerous malpractices in the Federal Ministry

Former Minister Šemsudin Dedić and current assistant Josip Jukić have been reported to the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office. Some crimes from Lijanović's term are still unresolved. Minister Hrnjić to Fokus: I will tackle the negative occurrences in the Ministry.

Prosecutors from the Department for Economic Crime and Corruption of the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office are intensively handling several reports related to illegal activities committed in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management, and Forestry, as confirmed to Fokus.ba.

The reports include, among others, former Federal Minister Šemsudin Dedić, as well as long-time and still current assistant minister in the Agricultural Payments Sector, Josip Jukić. The reports were mostly filed last year, and the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office stated that the public will be promptly informed when prosecutorial decisions are made.

Two Cases

According to information gathered by Fokus, which we presented to the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office in our inquiry, Dedić, Jukić, and several other individuals have been reported for illegal compensation payments in the Ministry, appointments contrary to regulations, and illegal payments of incentives in the field of rural development. The Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office is currently working intensively on two cases.

Numerous pieces of information about past years’ malpractices, provided to the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office, indicate that the corrupt practices, though to a lesser extent, have continued in this ministry. These practices were essentially established by the former Federal Minister of Agriculture, Water Management, and Forestry, Jerko Ivanković Lijanović, who has since been convicted.

Lijanović was convicted by the Cantonal Court in Tuzla in 2018 for abuse of position related to irregularities in the allocation of incentives to farmers from 2011 to 2014. According to the indictment, Lijanović damaged the FBiH budget by 817.000 KM by requiring farmers in FBiH to give 50% of the incentive amount to a group he organized. His advisor Stipe Šakić was also convicted along with him.

One of the more serious allegations against Dedić and Jukić, which is currently under investigation by the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office, relates to the year 2022, as established by federal auditors.

– By reviewing the requests for incentives for the year 2022, which were submitted after the finality of the issued decisions on refunds for production and other supports based on approved funds in 2021, support funds amounting to a total of 126,254 KM were approved for the same beneficiaries. Although the refund decisions became final, the Ministry did not issue decisions prohibiting the application of users who committed an offense under Article 23 of this law, thereby losing the right to receive financial support for a period of three years, as required by Article 49 of the Law on Financial Support in Agriculture and Rural Development – the auditors found.

Additionally, wilful misconduct in the service, concerning Dedić, is attributed to the fact that he took no action against the members of the Commission for the Payment of Incentives for Rural Development, two of whom are current assistant ministers, namely Jukić and Bešćo Alibegović (Sector for Agriculture and Food Industry), despite the established findings of irregularities by the Federal Administration for Inspection Affairs (FUZIP). The third member of the mentioned commission was Lijanović's advisor, Stipe Šakić, who has been convicted.

Findings of the Federal Inspection

FUZIP, in its report submitted to the Government, established abuses in the distribution of incentives amounting to 5.1 million KM.

Moreover, during both Lijanović's and Dedić's terms, obligations for rural development from 2012 were not resolved. Auditors noted that more than 420 requests remained unprocessed for an extended period. This commission then reported on December 31st 2021, that there were no obligations in this regard, but auditors found that decisions for 70 resolutions were missing.

Additionally, both Alibegović and Jukić were criminally reported during that period. However, in the court proceedings against Lijanović and Šakić, they only appeared as witnesses. The indictment, which detailed their actions, revealed certain incriminations.

In the indictment of the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Tuzla Canton number T03 0 KTK 0052614 15, Jukić and Alibegović are mentioned in the context of the testimony of Jesenka Jahić, an employee of the Payment Service, as follows:

– Closed envelopes were delivered to Šakić's office, who was a member of the Commission. She testified that clients with documentation also entered Šakić's office, where the other Commission members were present, which seemed odd to her since this was not the usual procedure. Later, when Bešćo Alibegović entered the office, Josip Jukić, referring to the client, said, “This one is yours, he is waiting for you…”

What is stated in the indictment?

Additionally, witness Dajana Zimonjić-Bošnjak mentioned that Stipe Šakić and Josip Jukić asked her whether the Ministry was obliged to act on inspection notices regarding the non-fulfillment of conditions for awarding incentives. Šakić was also a manager at the company Vita Vi d.o.o. Čapljina, which, according to the agricultural incentive register, received substantial amounts in previous years, including during Dedić's term.

Regarding Jukić, there is also a report submitted to the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office concerning his appointment as Assistant Minister in the Agricultural Payments Sector. Fokus is in possession of several documents from the Civil Service Agency from the period when this process was conducted, indicating irregularities in the competitions for Assistant Ministers in the Agriculture Sector and the Agricultural Payments Sector, where Alibegović and Jukić were appointed during Dedić's term. The Civil Servants Union also reacted.

What is the matter? During Lijanović's term in 2015, a competition was announced for the positions of Assistant Minister in the Agriculture Sector and Assistant Minister in the Agricultural Payments Sector. Alibegović was the top-ranked candidate for the Assistant Minister position in the Agriculture Sector, while Jukić was the second-ranked candidate for the other position.

Since Lijanović issued decisions to appoint Šakić and Jukić to these two positions, complaints about irregularities led the competent commission to decide to annul the competition. However, the minister did not follow through with this, as there was soon a change in the entire government led by Fadil Novalić.

Dedić, who succeeded Lijanović, announced a competition for the same positions in 2017 (in the meantime, Alibegović and Jukić held coordinator positions in the Ministry). This time, Jukić was not among the top-ranked candidates. Dedić decided to annul this competition and suddenly referred to the competition announced by his predecessor, Lijanović, and the results of that competition. Despite the fact that Jukić was the second-ranked candidate, Dedić appointed him to the position of Assistant in the Agricultural Payments Sector, and Alibegović, as the top-ranked candidate at that time, to the position of Assistant Minister in the Agriculture Sector.

Hrnjić publicly addresses the issues

Additionally, the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office is processing a criminal report against Dedić and the internal auditor of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management, and Forestry, Branimir Stipić, regarding irregularities in the implementation of the public call for financial assistance to entities in the agricultural and food sector during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Members of the commission that conducted that public call are also reported.

Fokus contacted Dedić and, after a verbal agreement, sent him questions via email. However, he did not respond by the time this article was concluded. If we receive his responses, we will publish them subsequently. The same applies to Jukić, whom we also contacted verbally but did not receive written responses from by the conclusion of this article.

The current Federal Minister of Agriculture, Water Management, and Forestry, Kemal Hrnjić, in a statement for Fokus, emphasizes that he is aware of the accumulated problems in this ministry. He states that it is time to speak publicly about them.

“The assistant ministers are lobbying against the minister's work and the ministry's operations. I publicly declare this and will certainly prove it in the coming period, and we must deal with these issues. If I tell you that one assistant minister calls parliamentary parties and lobbies for the Agricultural Strategy not to be adopted in the Federal Parliament, that he incites farmers to strike and block borders, then you understand the situation we are in. However, I am not afraid. I will continue, doing my job honorably, correctly, and honestly,” said Hrnjić to our portal.

He states that in accordance with norms, regulations, and laws, he will deal with all those working against this ministry, because, as he emphasizes, they are working against the state and its citizens.

“They only work for their personal interests. This will not be possible in the future,” Hrnjić said.

He highlights that there are over 400 unresolved cases from 2012, that more than 300 were resolved during the previous minister's term, leaving about 70 cases to be resolved.

“We issued decisions rejecting these applicants. Thus, we have completely fulfilled what the audit required and directed the clients to seek their rights in court if they believe they are justified. In my first year, I was mostly focused on the work of the Ministry and trying to move things forward,” emphasized the Federal Minister.

Klarić and Nekić

Sanela Klarić, a delegate in the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH, who has been speaking about irregularities in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management, and Forestry for many years, provided shocking data about the Ministry's work in recent years in a statement for Fokus.

“Those who abuse budget money continue to do so, and the Ministry allows it. This is based on official data. The audit report for 2022 states that out of 18,453 approved incentives in animal production, only 252 users were controlled, which is just five percent! It is also concerning that the Ministry did not issue decisions prohibiting the application of users who committed offenses in accordance with the Law on Financial Support in Agriculture and Rural Development,” Klarić said.

She stated that during the House of Peoples session held on March 13, she had a discussion with Assistant Minister Bešćo Alibegović, who disputed the problematic data regarding the control of invested money. However, these were later confirmed in the official audit report.

“The main causes of inadequate monitoring of effects and reporting on the state of agriculture were cited as the Ministry not prescribing a methodology for the preparation and production of annual green reports for FBiH, not forming a council for research in agriculture and rural areas. The Federal Minister did not form a monitoring and tracking committee for the Agricultural Development Strategy nor established functional and mandatory registers, although it was obliged to do so by law. It is important to note here that in the structure of incentives for animal production, payments based on output (milk) dominate, while in developed systems (EU), this method of payment almost does not exist,” Klarić pointed out.

She added that amendments to the Law on Financial Support in Agriculture and Rural Development are in the process, aiming to prevent the misuse of financial incentives. The goal, she says, is to align them with the Agricultural Law.

“The inconsistency between these two laws has enabled numerous malpractices. For example, if a farmer spends the funds received from the state for non-designated purposes, a decision is issued for the return of the funds, including interest in full. The Federal Ministry should issue a decision prohibiting the application. However, if that farmer initiates a court process, they can still apply for funds, receive them, and spend them inappropriately until the court case is concluded, which can take up to five years. The proposed amendments mandate that a client who commits an offense must return the funds received based on incorrect data or spent for non-designated purposes along with interest within 30 days from the date of the decision,” Klarić emphasized.

From 2020 to 2022, 381 million KM was spent

Chief Federal Auditor Dževad Nekić stated for Fokus.ba that auditors found that agricultural registers and systems for identifying land parcels and animals, which are fundamental for planning and tracking effects, are not functional.

“Recent performance audit results also pointed out shortcomings in the planning of incentives, the harmonization of federal and cantonal programs, the timeliness of program adoption, and the method of tracking achieved effects. Between 2020 and 2022, 381 million KM was spent on financial incentives, but there was no overall increase in agricultural production and livestock numbers,” Nekić told Fokus.