The contract came first. Independent oversight was still a thought.

By the time Dražen Višnjić publicly explained the technology project, Republika Srpska’s government had already signed an agreement worth BAM 57 million with the Chinese company ELINC. The proposed combination was explicit: Chinese hardware and software, Russian organizational practices, and Israeli training.

Asked who would independently guard against abuse, Višnjić said he was considering that model.

His answers, published in CAPITAL’s October 10, 2025 investigation into the project’s Chinese, Russian, and Israeli components , exposed the order of priorities. The government had committed public money to powerful infrastructure. Its technology chief could offer assurances about protection, but not an established independent oversight arrangement.

He praised Russian mechanisms of “control and supervision” in the name of protecting children.…