The U.S. designated Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) state prosecutor Diana Kajmakovic for corrupt actions which put her own personal and political gain before the needs of the citizens.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Kajmakovic abused her position of power as state prosecutor to assist criminals in avoiding justice in a Sept. 26 news release.
“The United States is designating Diana Kajmakovic, a state prosecutor in the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) state prosecutor’s office, for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption related to the Western Balkans as well as for being responsible for, complicit in or having directly or indirectly engaged in actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the Western Balkans,” Price said in the release. “Her abuse of her position as a state prosecutor to assist criminals, including drug traffickers, in avoiding justice is emblematic of the endemic corruption in BiH’s public institutions and representative of a system in which people in power put their own personal and political gain before the needs of citizens.”
The designation comes from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, according to a Sept. 26 release by that department.
Investigators analyzed private conversations conducted via encrypted messaging applications and found criminals mentioning Kajmakovic who allegedly helped hide evidence, prevent prosecution and assist in criminal activity. Kajmakovic's property and interests in property that are in the U.S. or in the possession or control of U.S. people are blocked and must be reported, according to the Treasury release.
Kajmakovic is running for chief state prosecutor in BiH. The country's judicial overseer has asked to cancel the selection process, Balkan Insight reported. The sub-council of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina is set to vote Sept. 29. Kajmakovic previously headed the Bosnian Prosecutor's Office corruption department.
