Exactly three years have passed since Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) filed a complaint against Milorad Dodik for conflict of interest. However, the Commission for Deciding on Conflicts of Interest of Bosnia and Herzegovina has still not made a decision in this case, which confirms that the institutional fight against corruption remains under political pressure.
Dodik, who at the time held the position of member of the BiH Presidency, was in direct conflict of interest because companies owned by his family conducted business with the state and received significant subsidies from the budget. This is a clear violation of the Law on Conflict of Interest in BiH Government Institutions that was in force at the time, however, although there is extensive evidence of these questionable business dealings, the Commission in the previous mandate did not conduct proceedings, and numerous other cases were not determined due to work blockades and political decision-making.
In the meantime, a new Law on Prevention of Conflicts of Interest was adopted, which was supposed to ensure greater independence of the body responsible for decision-making but its implementation is still delayed – first due to delays in selecting the new composition of the Commission, and then in adopting bylaws.
As a reminder, TI BiH reported Milorad Dodik in March 2022 for business dealings between his family’s companies and the state. According to data from the Capital.ba portal, companies owned by the Dodik family received approximately 370,000 KM in 2021 from the Agricultural Budget and the RS Compensation Fund. Specifically, according to data from the RS Agency for Agricultural Payments, the legal entities “Fruit Eco” from Gradiška, and “Agro voće” and “Global Liberty” from Laktaši, received assistance during 2021 for frost damage remediation, support for sold and produced fruit, subsidized diesel fuel, anti-hail nets, and similar.
The first company was owned by Igor Dodik during that period, the second was registered under Gorica Dodik according to business registers at the time, and in the third, the two of them were listed as co-owners when the mentioned funds were disbursed. Additionally, the legal entity “Ugostiteljstvo Agape” s.p., which operated under the ownership of Dodik’s daughter, received contracts from the Catering Service of the Government of Republika Srpska in amounts exceeding the legally permitted threshold of 5,000 KM annually.
Although the law that was in force at the time clearly defines that business dealings of close relatives of elected officials with the state constitute a conflict of interest, and this prohibition is present in the new law as well, it is still unknown whether the Commission has even initiated proceedings in this case despite the three-year period that has passed since the complaint. Considering that this involves one of the highest officials in BiH, it is clear that conflicts of interest are not only tolerated but also institutionally enabled.
In addition to problems at the highest levels of government, the situation is even more alarming at the entity level. In the Federation of BiH, there has been no body deciding on conflicts of interest for ten years, while in Republika Srpska the legal framework has been further weakened by recent amendments to the law, and the failures of the competent Commission have practically rendered the very idea of combating conflicts of interest meaningless.
TI BiH warns that combating conflicts of interest is a key prerequisite for fighting corruption and strengthening the rule of law – which is also the main requirement on BiH’s European path. Therefore, we appeal for urgent resolution of this and other cases in which documented instances of conflicts of interest exist, as well as for an end to blockades of anti-corruption bodies.
