Bosnalijek Shareholders Convene General Meeting, Demand Action from FBiH Securities Commission

(Patria) - After the Supervisory Board of Bosnalijek d.d. decided to postpone the repeated regular Shareholders' General Meeting scheduled for August 19th again, allegedly because the audited report of the external auditor for 2021 has not been completed or made available, the shareholders of this company have exercised their legal right and convened a regular general meeting for September 7th.

As announced by AS Holding doo, which leads these shareholders, they previously submitted a series of information to the FBiH Securities Commission regarding illegal actions by Bosnalijek d.d. and requests for measures to prevent harmful actions by the Supervisory Board and management of Bosnalijek towards the company itself and its shareholders.

The Securities Commission conducted an oversight and determined illegal actions, specifically violations of corporate governance rules and unlawful decision-making by the Supervisory Board, but Bosnalijek d.d., more precisely its Management and Supervisory Board, completely disregarded this and did not act upon the order of the FBiH Securities Commission. Shareholders warn that competent authorities must not remain silent in the face of violations of the law, damage to shareholders, and the ignoring of orders from the regulator (Securities Commission), as this, they state, represents a systemic risk to Bosnalijek d.d., its shareholders, creditors, and the capital market in BiH.

Shareholders emphasize that the Supervisory Board and Management of the company have obstructed attempts to hold the General Meeting of Bosnalijek d.d. on several occasions in the past nine months, all with the aim of enabling the current Supervisory Board and management to continue implementing illegal activities and causing incalculable damage and consequences to the company.

- The fact that the Supervisory Board and Management of the company have completely neglected their legally established obligations does not give them the right to prevent the regular General Meeting from being held because the audited report of the external auditor for 2021 has not been submitted. The Supervisory Board and Management of the company are obliged to provide shareholders and all other interested parties with an explanation for such conduct, and since they are continuously avoiding this, they should provide these explanations to the competent state authorities, shareholders point out.

Shareholders' mistrust of Bosnalijek's Supervisory Board and Management is justified, as shareholders, nor other interested parties, have received any information about the company's operations from them so far, despite having the legal right to do so. Furthermore, shareholders point to the fact that the illegal operations of Bosnalijek d.d. have been confirmed by arrests, detention, and prosecutorial investigations against the Chairman of the Supervisory Board and the company's director.

Given the aforementioned investigations and serious arrests of top officials of Bosnalijek d.d. on several occasions, shareholders rightly fear for the actual situation and operations of the company, and have on several occasions called on the Supervisory Board and Management to allow a special audit and in-depth review of the company's operations, which they have refused, further indicating potential harmful transactions for the company and shareholders, according to the statement.

Incidentally, Bosnalijek also sent a statement in which they state that the Supervisory Board of the Company, on August 15, 2022, simultaneously passed a Decision on convening the regular Annual General Meeting of the Company for September 19, 2022, of which a notice was duly published.

They emphasize that the external auditor was unable to perform their duties due to pressure and constant dissemination of falsehoods.