Bosnian Intelligence Chief Arrested Over Money Laundering, Abuse Of Office

By RFE/RL's Balkan Service

Bosnia's intelligence chief has been arrested amid an investigation that includes money laundering and forgery.

Osman Mehmedagic, the head of the Intelligence Security Agency (OSA), was detained on July 14 at the request of state prosecutors under suspicion of abuse of his position, falsifying personal identification documents, and money laundering, Sarajevo police spokesman Mirza Hadziabdic said.

The prosecutor's office said more information would be made available later on July 14.

Authorities earlier this month searched OSA's premises and confiscated Mehmedagic's personal files.

Last month, police arrested Denis Prcic, the head of the private American University in Sarajevo and Tuzla, for reportedly illegally issuing a diploma to Mehmedagic.

In 2019, Mehmedagic's diploma issued by a Banja Luka University in 2007 was annulled. He then handed over two other diplomas -- one issued by the American University in 2013 and one from the Sarajevo law school.

Mehmedagic had made no prior mention of his diploma from the American University in his resume, which prompted the prosecutor's office to open an investigation.

Last year, Mehmedagic was also charged with abuse of power for allegedly using agency resources to spy on a man who filed a criminal complaint against him.

Investigations often take years in corruption-plagued and ethnically divided Bosnia, which is still struggling to recover from a devastating war in 1992-95.

With reporting by Reuters and AP