European prosecutors on Monday identified six people — including three Bosnian public officials — as suspects in a cross-border corruption scheme linked to the construction of an EU-funded highway connecting Hungary with the Adriatic Sea via Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said the suspects allegedly rigged a four million euro ($4.63 million) consultancy tender to favor an Italian company in exchange for cash and other benefits.
According to EPPO, the Bosnian officials replaced an evaluation committee, altered technical reports, and instructed the Italian company on how to adjust its bid.
The investigation was carried out by Italy’s Carabinieri and Bosnia’s State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and was made possible through a new cooperation agreement between EPPO and Bosnia’s Prosecutor’s Office to coordinate corruption probes and share information.
