Goran Salihović, chief state prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time, was indicted in 2018 for abuse of office or official authority, on suspicion of illicitly using funds from the State Prosecutor's Office budget to cover representation expenses, and other violations. Salihović, who held managerial positions in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s judicial institutions for 20 years, was the first chief state prosecutor in the country to be tried for a criminal offense committed while in office. The trial, which began in 2020, did not reach a verdict as Salihović passed away during the proceedings, leading to the termination of the case.

In August 2016, a media report surfaced alleging that Salihović, while serving as chief state prosecutor, had obstructed criminal investigations. The Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor launched an investigation into the allegations of abuse of office and filed a disciplinary complaint, citing a series of irregularities. In September 2016, at the request of the disciplinary prosecutor, Salihović was suspended as chief state prosecutor by the first-instance disciplinary commission of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJSC). The second-instance disciplinary commission upheld the suspension one month later.

Following Salihović’s suspension, the first-instance disciplinary commission of the HJSC initiated disciplinary proceedings against him in January 2017 to investigate the violations reported in the disciplinary complaint. As a result, in July 2017, the commission decided to remove Salihović from his position as chief prosecutor. However, according to this decision, he remained a prosecutor in the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Parallel to these developments, in October 2016, the prosecutor's office announced the opening of a criminal investigation into Salihović, following a criminal complaint submitted by the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA). The investigation was intended to gather evidence and determine the circumstances related to suspected criminal offenses, which were also the subject of the ongoing disciplinary proceedings conducted against Salihović by the HJSC at the time. In July 2017, the prosecutor's office began questioning Salihović as part of the criminal investigation.

An indictment was filed by the prosecutor's office in November 2018, two years after the criminal investigation was opened. The indictment was confirmed in December 2018 (see here and here).

Salihović was charged with abuse of office or official authority under Article 220, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code, which carries a minimum sentence of three years in prison.

According to the indictment, between February 2013 and September 2016, Salihović illegally transferred funds from the prosecutor’s office budget earmarked for other purposes to the representation expenses account. He did this despite knowing the regulations and conditions governing the use of representation funds and the prescribed monthly spending limits. The indictment also alleged that Salihović was aware of the Rulebook of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which limits representation expenses to 20,000 convertible marks (€10,220) per year. The total financial damage he caused is estimated to exceed 80,000 convertible marks (€40,881). Furthermore, Salihović damaged the budget of public institutions by allegedly deliberately missing a return flight from an official trip, for which return tickets had already been purchased. During this incident, Salihović paid for new tickets for himself and his associates and subsequently requested and received full reimbursement from the prosecutor's office for this expense.

In January 2019, Salihović pled not guilty to the charges before the State Court of Bosnia and HerzegovinaH. One month later, the State Court transferred the case against him to the Sarajevo Municipal Court to ensure an impartial and fair trial. However, the Sarajevo Municipal Court declared itself incompetent to rule on the indictment and Salihović's case was ultimately transferred to the Sarajevo Cantonal Court.

The trial at the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo began in January 2020. During the opening statements, Salihović described the trial as a witch hunt and a staged process (see here). The proceedings were marked by numerous delays and postponements of hearings. The last court session took place in March 2023, concluding the evidentiary proceedings of the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor's Office. However, by 2024, the case had not progressed to a first-instance verdict and was ultimately terminated due to the death of the accused in June of that year.

During the trial, Salihović maintained that he had not engaged in any private activities at the state's expense, as all the disputed expenses were official. He also contested the use of documents and invoices marked as photocopies, claiming they could not be used as evidence, a point the prosecution denied. The trial was also characterised by the prosecution’s presentation of evidence not relevant to the legal proceedings, resulting in additional delays. Moreover, when the defence noted that certain pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution were irrelevant, the prosecution failed to address these objections (see here).

The prolonged duration of the legal process highlights significant inefficiencies within the judicial system. Such delays can undermine public confidence in the judiciary’s ability to effectively handle cases, especially those involving high-profile figures accused of corruption. The transfer of jurisdiction between courts also suggests potential procedural complications within the judicial process. The inability to conclude the case before the death of the accused means that the full scope of justice was never realised, leaving the alleged financial misconduct unresolved. The institution of the prosecutor has faced scrutiny and criticism in the past as a weak link in the judiciary (see here). In this context, the case further undermines the credibility of prosecutorial institutions in the country.