Development Bank of FBiH cannot take over Agrokomerc Food Industry after all

The Cantonal Court in Bihać overturned the decision by which the Agrokomerc Food Industry was awarded to the Development Bank of the Federation of BiH, earlier this April, writes Patria.

The process of selling a part of Agrokomerc was initiated at the beginning of the year to settle the alleged debt of this company to the company of former federal minister of agriculture Jerko Ivanković Lijanović and the debt to Triglav Insurance. The Agrokomerc Food Industry was bought by the Development Bank of FBiH, but as Agrokomerc has since managed to prove that the debt to the Lijanović family does not exist, the process of transferring Agrokomerc's property to the bank's ownership has also been halted. 

It is strange that the Municipal Court in Velika Kladuša conducted the sale of Agrokomerc's property at all, before the Cantonal Court in Bihać concluded the dispute between Lijanović and Agrokomerc. The FBiH Government was simply in a hurry to sell this valuable state property.

The sale of the property of the former Velika Kladuša food giant to the Development Bank of FBiH before the Municipal Court in Velika Kladuša has been conducted in a suspicious manner from the beginning. The company's property worth around 25 million KM was first devalued to only 2.2 million KM, and then sold to the bank. The bank intended to sell the property to a third party, also at a miserable price. Initially, the Croatian company Zvečevo was mentioned as the new owner of part of Agrokomerc, and then alleged investors from Arab countries...

The process of selling the Agrokomerc Food Industry was directly led by the federal Prime Minister Fadil Novalić, his advisor Suvad Osmanagić, and the federal Minister of Agriculture Šemsudin Dedić. Among the businessmen involved were Sarajevo businessmen Nihad Imamović and Mustafa Gadžo with their companies Ein Natural and Silsila, as well as the heads of the Development Bank of FBiH. The bank is also managed by the controversial Salko Selman, one of the key figures in SDA.

At the oral auction before the Court in Velika Kladuša at the end of February this year, the company Ein Natural appeared first as the best bidder, offering 12 million KM for Agrokomerc's property. The second best bidder was Gadžo with 5.5 million KM, while the Development Bank of FBiH, with 2.2 million KM, was the third best bidder for the Agrokomerc Food Industry.

A few days before he was supposed to pay the money, Imamović withdrew, due to alleged telephone threats to his family and himself. The police have never shed light on these cases. Gadžo withdrew without explanation. The Development Bank of FBiH eventually acquired Agrokomerc's valuable property for only 2.2 million KM. The bank has never wanted to comment on this case. They did not even publish a broader list of investors to whom they might sell Agrokomerc's property. 

Following the verdict of the Cantonal Court delivered this week, the Municipal Court in Velika Kladuša had to suspend the process of transferring the Agrokomerc Food Industry to the ownership of the Development Bank of FBiH. A hearing for the resale of this property will be scheduled again, and the Court in Velika Kladuša will announce the date of the new hearing later, writes Patria.