Bosnia’s Justice Minister Josip Grubesa commented on Monday on the Croatia’s request for extradition of former Dinamo boss Zdravko Mamic.

Zdravko Mamic, the former Dinamo football club boss and incumbent advisor to the club, his brother Zoran, former Dinamo director Damir Vrbanovic and tax official Milan Pernar have been found guilty of siphoning about 116 million kuna (€15.7 million) from Dinamo and defrauding the state budget of about 12.2 million kuna (€1.6 million) in unpaid taxes and surtaxes.

Zdravko Mamic was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, his brother Zoran to four years and 11 months, Pernar to four years and two months, and Vrbanovic to three years.

The Osijek-Baranja County Court on Tuesday ordered law enforcement authorities to issue national and international arrest warrants as well as a European Arrest Warrant for Zdravko Mamic.

There are certain weaknesses in the signed agreements between the two countries, Grubesa said.

“On my side, the emphasis is that the agreements are bilateral, they must be implemented on both sides, not just unilaterally,” he said.

He added that the ruling was only first instance, and that the Ministry received Croatia’s request for extradition.

“The decision is up to the court now. I believe that the Croatian judicial authorities have read the mentioned agreement and that the sent request is in line with everything written in the agreement, and the Bosnia and Herzegovina court will judge their requests with the same in mind, weigh up what is in the agreement and act accordingly,” Grubesa said.

On Friday, Bosnia’s State Court ruled against Croatia’s request for Mamic’s extradition to Croatia.

“Considering the nature of the criminal act (Mamic was sentenced for), there is no element of reciprocity, and the Court ordered for the extradition process to be halted, as the defense requested,” Mamic’s lawyer had said.

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