Top Bosnian Politician Detained Over Respirators Deal

The prime minister of one of Bosnia's two regions has been detained as part of a probe into the purchase of 100 respirators from China for coronavirus patients, his party said Friday

Sarajevo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th May, 2020 ) :The prime minister of one of Bosnia's two regions has been detained as part of a probe into the purchase of 100 respirators from China for coronavirus patients, his party said Friday.

Fadil Novalic, 61, who leads Bosnia's Muslim-Croat federation, was taken in for questioning by Federal police on Thursday, according to local media.

The chairman of his SDA party, the main Bosnian Muslim party, confirmed Novalic was in custody and asked the prosecutor's office to "urgently present the evidence" against the politician.

The 5.4 million euro ($6 million) deal done in April first raised suspicions after it emerged that authorities had hired a local fruit and vegetable company -- with no connection to the medical field -- to procure the equipment.

Prosecutors opened an investigation and in early May cited an expert who said the respirators were also not the right model for intensive care units where they were needed.

The director the government body in charge of the deal, the civil protection authority, and the head of the company hired to buy the respirators were also detained, according to local press.

Corruption is widespread in Bosnia, one of the poorest countries in Europe, according to watchdogs.

Bosnia, which has been divided into a Serb-run zone and a Muslim-Croat region since its 1990s war, has reported nearly 2,500 infections and around 150 deaths from the coronavirus.