European prosecutors have uncovered a major cross-border corruption scheme involving the construction of an EU-funded motorway project in Bosnia and Herzegovina – a development that has drawn renewed attention to the management of European infrastructure funds in the Western Balkans.

On October 13, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) identified six suspects, including three Bosnian public officials, who are accused of manipulating a consultancy tender worth €4 million ($4.63 million). The tender was part of an ambitious project to connect Hungary to the Adriatic Sea through Croatia and Bosnia, a strategic transport corridor intended to enhance regional trade, integration, and connectivity with the European Union.

The case marks one of the first joint corruption investigations between EPPO and Bosnian authorities, following a cooperation agreement aimed at improving cross-border investigations and ensuring accountability in the use of EU funds. The inquiry was carried out in collaboration with Italy’s Carabinieri and Bosnia’s State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), highlighting the increasingly international nature of corruption probes tied to European development projects.

According to a statement from EPPO, the suspects are accused of rigging the consultancy tender to favor an Italian firm in exchange for bribes, cash payments, and other personal benefits. Investigators say that key Bosnian officials abused their positions by replacing members of the evaluation committee, altering technical assessments, and providing the Italian company with confidential instructions to modify its proposal to ensure its selection.

These actions allegedly distorted the fair and competitive tendering process, undermining transparency and compliance with EU procurement standards. The consultancy contract in question was intended to oversee technical and environmental aspects of motorway construction – an essential phase that determines the project’s cost efficiency, safety, and sustainability.

By manipulating this process, prosecutors claim, the suspects not only violated procurement rules but also jeopardized the credibility of a project seen as a symbol of European integration and development in the Western Balkans.

The EU-funded motorway – part of the wider Corridor Vc route – is designed to link the Hungarian city of Budapest with the Adriatic port of Plo?e in Croatia, traversing Bosnia and Herzegovina. The corridor is considered one of the most important regional infrastructure projects under the EU’s connectivity agenda, aimed at improving transportation, logistics, and economic cooperation between the Balkans and the European Union.

Bosnia’s portion of the motorway, stretching over 330 kilometers, has long been a focal point of EU development assistance. The project is largely financed through loans and grants from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and EU funds earmarked under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA).

However, the project has repeatedly been marred by delays, financial mismanagement, and corruption allegations. In previous years, several public tenders related to the motorway were subject to scrutiny over irregularities, inflated costs, and alleged political interference. The latest revelations appear to confirm longstanding concerns in Brussels that EU-funded projects in the Western Balkans remain vulnerable to systemic corruption and weak institutional oversight.

The investigation represents a milestone in judicial cooperation between the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although Bosnia is not an EU member, it recently signed a working arrangement allowing the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to collaborate directly with the Bosnian Prosecutor’s Office and investigative agencies such as SIPA.

This arrangement enables real-time information sharing, joint operational planning, and evidence exchange in cases involving EU financial interests. For EPPO – which became operational in 2021 to combat crimes affecting the EU budget – the case underscores its expanding reach beyond EU borders.

“The case demonstrates how cooperation between EU and non-EU authorities can produce concrete results in safeguarding European taxpayers’ money,” EPPO said in its statement. “It also shows our determination to ensure that corruption has no borders.”

Italian investigators from the Carabinieri’s financial crimes division also played a key role, conducting raids and seizing documents at the Italian company’s headquarters. Parallel searches were carried out in Sarajevo and Banja Luka, where several of the Bosnian suspects are based.

The corruption probe comes at a sensitive time for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was granted EU candidate status in December 2022 but still faces significant reforms before accession talks can begin in earnest. The European Commission has repeatedly stressed that rule of law, judicial independence, and anti-corruption measures are central benchmarks for Bosnia’s progress toward membership.

Analysts say the motorway scandal risks undermining public trust in state institutions and could complicate Bosnia’s relations with Brussels if systemic weaknesses are not addressed. Transparency International’s regional director, Ivana Korajli?, warned that “cases like this reinforce the perception that public tenders in Bosnia are manipulated to serve political and personal interests rather than public good.”

She added that the cooperation between EPPO and Bosnian prosecutors “must be institutionalized and sustained beyond this case if Bosnia hopes to convince the EU that it can manage European funds responsibly.”

In response to the revelations, Bosnia’s Prosecutor’s Office announced that it would intensify monitoring of all projects financed through EU or international funds. Meanwhile, the European Commission is expected to review the compliance mechanisms governing the Corridor Vc project to ensure that all future tenders are transparent and independently audited.

European officials have long emphasized that corruption in major infrastructure projects not only wastes public money but also undermines the region’s competitiveness and integration prospects. As EPPO continues its investigation, the outcome will likely serve as a key test of the EU’s ability to enforce accountability in pre-accession states and ensure that development funds are not diverted through collusion or fraud.

The motorway case thus stands as both a warning and a precedent – illustrating the risks of corruption in transnational projects and the growing resolve of European institutions to confront it head-on.

Please follow Blitz on Google News Channel

The post European prosecutors probe alleged fraud in EU-funded motorway project in Bosnia appeared first on BLiTZ.

[Read More]

—–
Source: Weekly Blitz :: Writings