Sale of Drina's Assets Still a Secret, Citizens of Goražde Lost 80 Million KM!

GORAŽDE, (Patria) - For several years now, the judiciary in the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton has not resolved the case of the suspiciously sold assets of the Bosnian state company Drina, which were located in Montenegro.

The assets of that construction company, worth 80 million KM, were bought by a certain Slobodan Knežević, for only half a million marks! According to unofficial information, the investigation in the Prosecutor's Office of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton has been completely halted, even though the Federal Police Administration had previously filed a criminal complaint in this case. 

The opposition warns that in Goražde, the damage caused to the state and citizens is being ignored. And the greatest damage was done precisely through the assets of the Construction Company Drina d.d. Goražde. The majority owners of Drina today are some members of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA).

The decision to sell the assets of the company GPD Drina d.d. Goražde to Montenegrin businessman Knežević was made by the President of the Supervisory Board of Drina, Zijad Deljo. The assets of Drina in Montenegro are the property of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton, not the company, so experts warn that Zijad Deljo, along with other members of the Supervisory Board and management of GPD Drina, did not have the right to sell those assets. 

Few in Goražde dare to speak about this case. One of them is the SDP representative in the Assembly of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde, Suad Došlo.

- Based on our conclusions in the Assembly, the Federal Police Administration filed a criminal complaint and submitted a report to the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office, but nothing has moved beyond that. I think they even closed the case. No one here wants to deal with the work of the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office. Until the prosecutors in Goražde are replaced, there will be no progress. I personally have not addressed the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, and it is possible that someone else will do so – says Došlo for Patria, adding that he cannot recall the judiciary in Goražde convicting anyone for economic crime. 

He also commented on the fact that the SDA has now introduced a trusteeship of that party in Goražde. He doubts that this can bring anything good for the city itself. He says that “for years they have been fighting, but they unite when someone from outside touches them.”

- There are no advances, and everything boils down to “one rogue replaces another.” This one was called Mustafa Kurtović, now another faction will come, but nothing will be better  – added Došlo. He believes that the top of the SDA is to blame because a gray zone was created in the judiciary of Goražde.  

In Goražde, governments fall, the population is smaller, and salaries in the private sector are minimal. Goražde is mentioned as an economic miracle of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the number of people on the unemployment register is minimal. On the other hand, the facts also show that the standard of living of citizens in Goražde is quite poor. Strikes by healthcare workers are frequent. “Those who are close to Prime Minister Emir Oković and former Mayor of Goražde Mustafa Kurtović, during whose time the Drina assets were sold, mostly live well.”

Citing the Sarajevo Stock Exchange, Žurnal previously published that one of the co-owners of GPD Drina is a certain Halil Oković. The current Prime Minister of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton, Emir Oković, bears the same surname. Halil Oković is also a shareholder in Privredna banka Sarajevo, and his name is linked to the companies Okac d.o.o., Mlin Ustikolina, Pobjeda Rudet d.d., Ginex d.d., Goraždeputevi d.o.o., Goraždestan d.d.. Oković is almost always the winner of all infrastructure tenders during the mandate of Emir Oković as Prime Minister of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde.

The company that uses gravel from the Drina River does not pay any concession fees to the City of Goražde or the canton. On the contrary,  Prime Minister Oković pays Halil Oković for “extracting” material from the river, under the pretext that he is not using the natural resources of the City but rather cleaning the riverbed of the Drina River.

- Every time someone raised a question regarding this irrational practice, the Assembly of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton was adjourned. An important person for such business contracts is the Secretary of the Government, Emir Sijerčić. He is a member of various Government commissions, mostly those related to public procurement. He was an instructor for public procurement, a member of the group for concession contracts, a member of the anti-corruption commission, etc. – says one of Patria's interlocutors. 

The Director of Drina, Hajrudin Vlajčić, was questioned at the Prosecutor's Office of the Sarajevo Canton as part of the operation Zadruga. Restrictive measures were imposed on him. Zadruga began on January 24. The operation covered hundreds of individuals and companies suspected of organized crime, abuse of position or authority, and money laundering.

DF representative in the Assembly of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton, Edita Velić, previously warned for the Patria agency that “if the sale of Drina's assets was illegal, then someone should be held accountable.” /A.Č.Z./