Violation of the Law: Novalić's Advisors for SDA and HDZ Complete the Plunder of Public Companies

Advisors to the Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fadil Novalić, are in a deep conflict of interest, as the Government has appointed and authorized every single one of them for multiple different assemblies, management and supervisory boards, which is contrary to the Law on Conflict of Interest, reports the Patria news agency.

Thus, the Association of Citizens, Shareholders and Stakeholders in Companies and Investment Funds in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UGDAU DIG U BiH) reported the federal prime minister's advisor Amra Đendušić to the Central Election Commission due to a conflict of interest, requesting the CEC to urgently act on this report because “it concerns a matter that could cause great damage in the FBiH”.

However, shareholders are fighting in vain for the rule of law, as for two years there has been no agreement on who would be responsible for implementing the Law on Conflict of Interest, and the CEC has been stripped of that authority.

Rizah Softić, president of UGDAU DIG U BiH, tells Patria that numerous provisions of the Law on Conflict of Interest have been violated in government bodies in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and that the Association believes the bottom has been reached regarding this issue.

- The Law on Conflict of Interest is very explicit and it stated that there is a conflict of interest when the prime minister's advisors are appointed to assemblies. Because, membership in a management board, supervisory board, assembly, management or as an authorized person in a public enterprise is incompatible with public functions of an elected official, holder of an executive function or advisor.

The problem of this country now is that the Central Election Commission no longer resolves conflict of interest issues, because it has been deprived of that right. For two years, they have been unable to agree which commission will be responsible for checking conflicts of interest and to whom persons in a conflict of interest will be reported – says Softić.

Filing Criminal Reports

The only solution at this moment is for the shareholders themselves to start sending lawsuits to the competent courts.

- Shareholders in all assemblies wherever a prime minister's advisor has been appointed should file a lawsuit. The court should automatically react, because it is clear to them that the Law on Conflict of Interest prohibits advisors from being authorized representatives. It is clear that the prime minister's advisors work exclusively for the interests of SDA and HDZ – added Softić.

Đendušić was the proxy of the Government of the Federation of BiH at the assembly of the public company Elektroprivreda HZ HB, she is also the government's proxy for Feroelektro, chairperson of the Commission for Conducting the Procedure for the Election of the Director of the Federal Employment Institute, also chairperson of the Commission for the Selection and Appointment of Members of Supervisory Boards in Commercial Companies with State Capital Participation where the Government of the FBiH exercises authority...

Đendušić previously performed legal work in Unis Group at the time when Suvad Osmanagić (also one of Novalić's advisors) was the director of this company.

Đendušić, our sources from the Government of the FBiH claim, is not resourceful, and she showed this on the first test when, as the proxy of the Government of the FBiH, she was supposed to participate in the Assembly of Feroelektro.

Stanići, who plundered Feroelektro, showed their muscles and did not allow the representative of the Government of the FBiH to attend the Assembly under the pretext that she was late to register, and then they canceled the Assembly due to lack of a quorum.

Then she showed all her “resourcefulness” at the Assembly of Elektroprivreda HZHB because, thanks to her vote, and by agreement between SDA and HDZ, she had the task to “at all costs” remove the very successful management of Elektroprivreda HZ HB.

Another of Novalić's advisors, Goran Miraščić, received a series of functions, including being appointed as the representative of the Government of the FBiH on the Management Board of the project “Building Capacity of Government Institutions for Participation in Political Dialogue with Civil Society - Phase II”. Also, Miraščić is a member of the Management Board of the Export Credit Agency of BiH (IGA), appointed on the proposal of the Government of the FBiH by the Council of Ministers of BiH.

Miraščić was previously an advisor to Desnica Radivojević in the last term. Before that, an advisor to Spomenka Mičić when she was Vice President of the FBiH. Incidentally, he is a professor with Ejup Ganić at the Faculty and a member of the Advisory Group of the Fiscal Council of BiH.

And Samir Iskrić, head of Novalić's cabinet and one of the advisors, was appointed as the proxy of the Government of the FBiH at the Assembly of the Brown Coal Mine Banovići.

Previously, Iskrić managed the finances of FK Zvijezda at the time when Novalić was president of this club, and he also led the financial service in the company Cimos TMD and was on the Supervisory Board of Pretis.

It is precisely through him and Suvad Osmanagić, who until April 2015 performed the function of director of Unis-Group d.o.o., that Novalić takes control of the defense industry.

Denijal Pelidija, another of Novalić's advisors, is among other things a member of the Commission for the Selection and Appointment of Members of Supervisory Boards in Commercial Companies with State Capital Participation where the Government of the FBiH exercises authority. Novalić previously rewarded him by appointing him to the working group for finding a model to mitigate and prevent the gray economy in the part of labor relations and unregistered business entities.

And SBB Equally Responsible

However, experts warn that it is incredible that people, although aware that they are committing a criminal act, blindly execute the orders of party bosses and the ruling coalition. In the whole story, the Alliance for a Better Future (SBB), which is also in power, cannot be absolved and will be equally responsible for all the plunder and illegal actions during the mandate of the Government of the FBiH with the SDA and HDZ.