KABIRI AND PANAMA: IS ALUMINUM FACING THE FATE OF HAPOEL?

(Patria) - Aluminij, a problem old enough to be relegated to the back burner of public interest, yet still relevant due to everything that has happened and is happening around the former Mostar giant, which was destroyed by HDZ politics.

Part of the solution for Aluminij was found on April 7 this year, with the signing of an agreement with Aluminij Industries, a subsidiary of the consortium M.T. Abraham Group - China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) - China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (NFC).

According to the report of the Federal Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry on the implementation of the aforementioned Agreement from the signing until August 18, problems in the fulfillment of obligations were listed.
On June 5 this year, Aluminij informed the relevant ministry by letter about the implementation of the aforementioned Agreement. 

The information states that at a meeting between Aluminij d.d. and representatives of Aluminij Industries d.o.o. held on June 1, information was received from the Industries representatives that due to COVID, the deadlines for the conditions stipulated in points a), b), and c) of Article 12, paragraph 2 of the Agreement were not met.

What was not fulfilled was actually a prerequisite for the Agreement to come into force. All of this led to the postponement of all deadlines by several months, according to the FMERI report.

In addition to the request for exemption from customs duties on imported alloyed aluminum, none of the Aluminij workers were employed at Aluminij Industries at that time. The report stated that Industries planned to employ the first 30 to 40 workers by August 15, and planned to start the Foundry at full capacity on October 1.

In the first 60 days, the provision of the agreement regarding the signing of an agreement between Industries and Aluminij's creditors was also not fulfilled.

Due to all that was not fulfilled, the Agreement between Aluminij and Aluminij Industries did not come into force in the first 60 days. Aluminij Industries, through its lawyers, threatened the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the relevant ministry that they would sue them if the federal government and Aluminij d.d. contested the extension of the Agreement by 60 days.

However, in a letter dated August 6, Aluminij Industries informed the Federal Ministry that on August 5, they sent a letter to Aluminij accepting the Agreement (Cooperation Agreement), and that it had come into force and that its provisions could be fully implemented in relation to the Agreement of April 7. On August 12, Aluminij Industries submitted a Bank Guarantee for the execution of the Agreement to Aluminij Mostar, where the principal secures a bank guarantee in the amount of two monthly fees, i.e., 70,200 KM, and a confirmation of receipt of money to the notary's deposit account was provided.

Aluminij Mostar confirmed that the obligations from the Agreement were thus fulfilled. The Federal Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry proposed to the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to adopt the Report on the Agreement between the two Aluminij companies, and the conclusion that this ministry submit the Agreement documents to the Federal Attorney's Office for an opinion.

Also, the mentioned ministry proposed that it submit a report to the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina every six months, or sooner if needed, on the business cooperation between the two companies - Aluminij and Aluminij Industries.

The first of October is near, and it is certain that the workers who are supposed to get jobs in the Foundry are eagerly awaiting that day. Let's just hope there are no further delays.

About Abraham and his owner

Amir Gross Kabiri was born in 1980. He is an Israeli businessman, investor, industrialist, publisher, and art collector.

What is particularly interesting about Kabiri is his passion for art, which led to his great interest in Russian museums. From Moscow, through Novosibirsk to St. Petersburg,
Kabiri leads exhibitions and publishes publications.

Whether it is only about art or Kabiri goes to Russia for political-financial connections remains unknown.

What is known, however, is that his company MT Abraham Group is located in one of the oases for offshore business, in Panama. Does a company presented as a giant need the fact that it is registered in an "illegal zone"? And how much can it be trusted when it comes to the deal with Mostar's Aluminij?

Kabiri was mostly praised by media with ties to Dragan Čović, which in itself casts doubt on the path the Israeli businessman took to get to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In addition, Kabiri was also known as the owner of one of the most successful Israeli football clubs, Hapoel Tel Aviv.

However, he bought the club in 2015, and problems arose the following year. As the Times of Israel wrote at the time, Hapoel went into receivership, went bankrupt, and was penalized by point deductions.

In that situation, Kabiri said he no longer had money for the club, and the Israeli football giant went into bankruptcy administration.

We hope that Kabiri understands aluminum and alloys better than football, otherwise, the future of the workers of the failed Herzegovinian giant will once again be uncertain.