Nedim Uzunović Sentenced to One Month in Detention, Other Suspects Released

SARAJevo, (Patria) - The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has ordered one month of detention for Nedim Uzunović, director of Bosnalijek company, Istraga.ba reported. 

The hearing on the motion to impose detention lasted more than four hours. 

Prosecutor Enisa Adrović stated that the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina accuses Uzunović of establishing two organized criminal groups.

The first, according to the Prosecutor's Office, was organized while he was the director of Bosnalijek's representative office in Moscow, and it consisted mainly of his close family members - father, wife, sister-in-law, father-in-law, sister... this group was used to conceal illegally acquired funds withdrawn from Bosnalijek. The Prosecutor's Office claims he withdrew funds by engaging the Seychelles-registered company Impericon, whose actual owner was Uzunović, for alleged marketing consulting and drug registration services.

The Prosecutor's Office determined that the moment funds were transferred from Bosnalijek to that company's account, they were immediately transferred to the private accounts of Uzunović or individuals connected to him, and that these funds were used, among other things, for purchasing real estate.

According to Prosecutor Adrović, an expert examination determined that the company did not provide marketing and drug registration services, nor was it registered for such purposes. The Prosecutor's Office claims that Bosnalijek was damaged by more than eight million convertible marks in this manner, of which Uzunović acquired about three million for himself, and more than five million for individuals connected to him.

- The suspects disposed of these funds, although they must have known they originated from a criminal offense - said the prosecutor, writes Faktor. 

The second part of the investigation relates to the period when Uzunović was already the director of Bosnalijek in Sarajevo.

The company Close Ville was then established in the Czech Republic, and just a month later, Uzunović entered into a cession agreement with its director, Heinz Kurt Reinhold, whereby a portion of Bosnalijek's multi-million claims against the company CV Protek Moscow, which is still Bosnalijek's largest customer today, was transferred to Close Ville, with Close Ville retaining a ten percent share.

As stated by the prosecutor, 55 invoices were issued to CV Protek, of which seven were transferred to Close Ville.

- There was no reason for precisely those seven invoices to be transferred to Close Ville - said the prosecutor, adding that during all this time, CV Protek continued to cooperate with Bosnalijek and duly paid all due invoices.

After that, Uzunović signed four more agreements with Close Ville for the assignment of claims from CV Protek and the company Puls Khimki, and these Russian companies paid approximately 21 million KM to Close Ville's account.

Of this amount, according to the Prosecutor's Office, about 5.2 million KM was retained and transferred to KBC Malta's account in early 2017.

To conceal the origin of the money, it was further transferred through a series of transactions based on previously concluded loan agreements.

The money was transferred from the Czech Republic to Russia, then to Switzerland, then to Bermuda, and finally to Malta, to an account opened by the company KBC EURO CREDIT CAPITAL LIMITED. With this money, KBC Malta purchased 673,000 shares of Bosnalijek, becoming the owner of 24.23 percent of this company.

- In this way, Bosnalijek's funds were used to purchase Bosnalijek shares for third parties - said the prosecutor.

In the same way, two agreements were concluded with the company Maximus Holding for the transfer of claims from Russian companies, of which about one million KM was transferred for the purchase of Bosnalijek shares.

The prosecutor stated that the Prosecutor's Office, partly through international legal assistance, still needs to establish all facts related to the disposal of the money.

She also stated that Uzunović, along with his father-in-law Emin Hadžiomerović, owns a construction company in Croatia, and that it has been determined that he withdrew more than one million KM in cash from an account in Croatia, and they do not know where that money ended up.

She stated that there is a fear that, as the director of Bosnalijek, he could use his official position to obstruct the investigation and influence witnesses and employees of the company.

Uzunović's lawyer, Mirsad Crnovršanin, who requested restrictive measures, citing Uzunović's serious health condition due to a spinal surgery, stated that the case has been ongoing for five years and that he himself has repeatedly submitted evidence directly to the Prosecutor's Office, and that they have cooperated with all agencies working on this case.

He emphasized that a large number of individuals have been questioned in this case, and searches have been conducted at multiple locations.

- Everyone was questioned at SIPA, everyone is accused of receiving a certain amount of money, and neither were they detained nor were any measures imposed on them. Most of them even chose to remain silent, and their mobile phones were not even confiscated. Therefore, 24 members of the group are at liberty, so what is the logic behind bringing only Uzunović before the court? - said Crnovršanin.

He stated that regarding the Prosecutor's Office's claims that Uzunović is the owner of Impericon, it is true, but that yesterday, during questioning at the Prosecutor's Office, they pointed out that there was consent from the then director of Bosnalijek, Edin Arslanagić, for this.

Crnovršanin submitted that consent as material evidence, stating that he "responsibly claims that the financial expert did not have that document when conducting the expert examination."

He also pointed out that the representative office in Moscow never made payments, but that all payments were made from the company's headquarters in Sarajevo.

The prosecutor stated that they dispute the authenticity of that document, and said that Arslanagić was questioned and stated at the time that "he knows nothing about it."

Crnovršanin also stated that two and a half years ago, they submitted the findings and opinion of financial expert Mirsada Čeho, as well as a 37-page report on the financial justification of engaging companies for debt collection, to the Prosecutor's Office, which stated that no regulations related to fiscal operations were violated and that the Management Board was regularly informed about it.

Crnovršanin also stated that Bosnalijek has suffered damages of 1.4 million KM during the two days his client has been in detention, as he could not sign certain documents for the export of goods. He said that detention for his client would mean "the collapse of a company that employs over 800 people."

He asked if there was any witness who could testify that Uzunović had tried to influence them not to testify against him.

He also stated that his client had not caused any damage to Bosnalijek and had quintupled the company's profit. In the previously mentioned report, as the defense attorney emphasized, it was stated that all sold receivables were collected and that the total amount realized in this way was one million and 133 thousand euros in favor of Bosnalijek.

Uzunović himself stated that the receivables were transferred when the Russian ruble experienced a sharp decline, after sanctions were imposed on Russia due to the conflict around Ukraine.

- Convertible marks are pegged to the euro, while the ruble is constantly changing. During that period, the ruble fell by 30, 50, and even 100 percent. We were looking for a way to collect as quickly as possible. It wasn't a sale because CV Protek was insolvent, but because large pharmacy chains went bankrupt and every delay carried a risk. Every such sale in euros brought us extra profit - said Uzunović.