Bosnia's state court formally charged former Bosnian Serb minister Momcilo Mandic with helping war crimes fugitives, abuse of office, fraud and organised crime, the court said today.
Mandic, a former minister in the government of Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic, has been charged on 14 counts together with three other top Bosnian Serb officials, including ex-Serb presidency member Mirko Sarovic.
The court said he was accused of abuse of office, forgeries and assistance to fugitives such as Karadzic, who is indicted by the UN war crimes court for genocide over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslims and the 43-month siege of Sarajevo.
Bosnia's former peace overseer Paddy Ashdown had accused Mandic of supporting Karadzic financially, but Mandic denied this. Ashdown sacked three other officials from their positions, suspecting them of helping war crimes fugitives evade justice.
The group is blamed for the bankruptcy of the Privredna Banka bank in the Serb part of Sarajevo, owned by Mandic, after depositors' funds were transferred to political party accounts.
Some funds are believed to have gone to finance the support network of Karadzic, who has been on the run since 1997.
Mandic left Bosnia towards the end of the 1992-95 war and moved to Belgrade where he became a wealthy businessman. He was arrested last August in Montenegro and transferred to Bosnia for detention.