The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina /Court/ rendered, and the Presiding Judge delivered on 6 July 2022, a Trial Judgment in the case of Ekrem Gonjanin et al. (S1 2 K 026686 17 K), finding the accused Ekrem Gonjanin and Armin Poplata guilty of the criminal offense of Organized Crime under Article 250(2) in connection with the criminal offense of Tax Evasion or Fraud under Article 210 paragraph 4 in connection with paragraphs 1 and 2, taken in conjunction with Article 54 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina /CC BiH/.
The legal entities Alper trade d.o.o. Dubrave Brčko District and Arbelšped d.o.o. Sarajevo have been found responsible for the criminal offenses as follows: the legal entity Alper trade d.o.o. Dubrave Brčko District, the criminal offense of Organized Crime under Article 250(2) in connection with the criminal offense of Tax Evasion or Fraud under Article 210 paragraph 4 in connection with paragraphs 1 and 2, taken in conjunction with Article 124c and Article 128 of the CC BiH; and the legal entity Arbelšped d.o.o. Sarajevo, the criminal offense of Organized Crime under Article 250(2) in connection with the criminal offense of Tax Evasion or Fraud under Article 210 paragraph 4 in connection with paragraphs 1 and 2, taken in conjunction with Article 124d and Article 128 of the CC BiH.
The Court imposed the following sentences on the accused: the accused Ekrem Gonjanin - six (6) years' imprisonment, and the accused Armin Poplata - imprisonment for a term of two (2) years and six (6) months. The Court imposed the following fines on the legal entities: the legal entity Alper trade d.o.o. Dubrave, Brčko District – sum of 100,000.00 BAM (one hundred thousand convertible marks); and the legal entity Arbelšped d.o.o. Sarajevo - sum of 20,000.00 BAM (twenty thousand convertible marks).
Pursuant to Articles 110 and 111 of the CC BiH, as read with Article 392 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Court confiscated the proceeds of crime from the accused.
The Court dismissed some of the charges against the accused Ekrem Gonjanin for the criminal offense of Money Laundering under Article 209 paragraph 3 as read with paragraphs 1 and 2, taken in conjunction with Articles 29 and 54 of the CC BiH.
The accused Sulejman Brković, Asim Alagić, Azem Kurtanović and Hazem Pavitinović have been acquitted of some of the charges as stated in the enacting clause of the judgment, whereby they would have committed the criminal offense of Organized Crime under Article 250(2) as read with the criminal offense of Tax Evasion or Fraud under Article 210 paragraph 4 as read with paragraphs 1 and 2, taken in conjunction with Articles 31 and 54 of the CC BiH. The accused have been acquitted of those charges because it has not been proved that they committed the crimes alleged.
