Corruption: Public Procurement in Healthcare Under the Control of Dr. Izetbegović, Turković, and the Kapetanović Family

It is known that Sebija Izetbegović, General Director of KCUS, while heading the General Hospital „Prim. Dr. Abdulah Nakaš“ realized most public procurements through the Pharmacy „DINA“. The Sarajevo Canton Government never problematized the way public funds were spent through this pharmacy.

When Professor Izetbegović took over the leadership of KCUS, the Kapetanović family's business moved to the most prominent federal healthcare institution. To facilitate decision-making, Izetbegović ensured that the Chairman of the KCUS Management Board was none other than Jasmin Kapetanović, the husband of the owner of Pharmacy „Dina“.

Photo: Patria

At the same time, Samir Turković was appointed head of the Sarajevo Canton Health Insurance Fund, who obstructed the work of the Fund's Supervisory Board and prevented access to the Fund's premises during 2016. The expert services of the Health Insurance Fund did not provide the Supervisory Board with the requested documents throughout the entire past year, although they were obliged to do so.

Professor Izetbegović, according to our sources, reorganized all the Fund's commissions into one and arranged for herself to be at its head.

During the 1.5-year management of the Izetbegović – Kapetanović duo, KCUS was plundered, and life-threateningly ill patients were directed to purchase medicines and sanitary materials from Pharmacy „DINA“, which had absolutely everything that KCUS lacked, from surgical gloves to cytostatics.

There is also much to be said about the agreed-upon trade margins. For example, the price of one pair of surgical gloves from the supplier „Medimpex“ is KM 0.35-0.40, but the price of the same pair of gloves from the supplier Pharmacy „Dina“ is KM 0.90. We can only imagine the prices and margins on much more important and vital medicines for patient health.

According to the latest information from sources close to the management and the Management Board of KCUS, Jasmin Kapetanović is concerned about the difficulties in repaying the loan for the purchase of the former „Treska“ building, which houses the Konzum supermarket, which can no longer regularly pay rent for the space.

- The Kapetanović family plans to build three more floors on the existing building, and recently Jasmin Kapetanović stated that it might be five floors. Among the KCUS surgeons, there are assessments that the Orthopedic Clinic is a "victim of the overbuilding of Konzum next to Dina pharmacy in the skyscraper" – says our source.

The Director of the Sarajevo Canton Health Insurance Fund, Samir Turković, duly and without question services this procurement system. This uncontrolled spending of public money for public procurement has provided Turković with an opportunity to secure Rifat Ličina, the director of Bauerfeind.

Namely, the old management of the Sarajevo Canton Health Insurance Fund, led by Kenan Crnkić, signed two contracts in November 2014 with „Bauerfeind“ d.o.o. Sarajevo for the successive supply of medical aids (diapers and pads), with a total value of KM 1,483,350. The contracts were signed for 24 months. And just before the expiry of the concluded contracts, the new Director of the Health Insurance Fund, Samir Turković, concluded Annexes to the contracts by extending both contracts "with the mutual consent of the contracting parties until the public procurement procedure for medical aids is legally concluded."

And of course, it will soon be a year since the legal conclusion of the public procurement procedure, during which period Samir Turković and the Health Insurance Fund have paid Rifat Ličina, i.e., „Bauerfeind“, the amount of KM 860,000, while during the same period, for the same medical aids, they paid the amount of KM 100,000 to the other 150 pharmacies – suppliers.