Bosnian Corruption Blamed for $1 Billion in Diverted Funds
More than $1 billion in public funds and international aid may have been stolen by top Muslim, Croat and Serbian officials in Bosnia, international officials said Tuesday.
The diversion of public funds emerged in a series of corruption reports prepared by the anti-fraud unit of the Office of the High Representative, said spokeswoman Alexandra Stiglmayer, confirming a report in the New York Times.
The Office of the High Representative is the international agency responsible for carrying out civilian aspects of the Dayton peace agreement that ended the 3 1/2-year war in Bosnia.
“Most of the money that has been lost is local taxpayers’ money. The money has been taken from the budgets. The figure is probably higher than $1 billion,” Stiglmayer said.
The corruption report is a painful one for international efforts to rebuild Bosnia. Donor nations, including the United States, have poured in $5.1 billion since the end of the war in 1995 to reconstruct infrastructure and try to stitch together a viable government.
Alija Izetbegovic, the Muslim chairman of the three-man Bosnian presidency, called the latest allegations untrue.
In Washington, State Department spokesman James P. Rubin acknowledged Bosnian corruption.
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