Dragan Pajić, who had been mayor of Brcko until his forced resignation last month, was arrested along with the district’s Head of Education Rizo Čivić. In addition, Miron Buro, director of the Office for Public Property, and Sadem Plakalo, a clerk at this office, Samir Čorbadžić, Miodrag Trifković, Rino Bajer, all civil servants, were taken in for questioning.
According to Halid Emkić, the spokesman for the BD Police Department, operation “Bingo” began at the end of 2010. A review of documents seized during raids on public institutions and Pajic’s private property will determine whether or not the Prosecutor’s office motions to keep the suspects in detention.
During his three-year term, Pajić came under scrutiny for conflicts of interest. In January, the Central Election Commission of BiH (CIK) found that the fact that Pajić’s mother owns a major pharmaceutical company with ties to the Brcko government constituted a conflict of interest. Moreoever, although the former mayor’s mother is the nominal owner of the company, Posavinalijek, the de facto owner of the company is Dragan Pajić.
Despite CIK’s finding, Pajić refused to resign from his position as mayor, even after the state court ruled that his involvement with Posavinalijek represented a conflict of interest.
Roderick Moore, an American diplomat who oversees Brcko in his capacity as Principal Deputy High Representative, suggested that the political parties in power to remove Pajić from his function. Pajic was removed last month in a special session of Brcko’s government.
High Representative Valentin Inzko, the top international administrator in Bosnia, commended the arrests, noting that without such actions there would effectively be no legal state. Roderick Moore further expressed his support for Brcko’s judicial institutions and encouraged legal action against all corrupt public servants, regardless of their positions or political affiliations.
Zekerija Mujkanović, Chief Prosecutor for Brčko, stated that the investigation and arrests are the result of a strategic approach by the Prosecutor's Office and the Police in Brčko, in an ongoing battle against corruption in public institutions.
