Development Bank the Only One in the Game: Did Izetbegović Deceive the Turks Who Wanted to Buy Agrokomerc?

The sale of the Velika Kladuša-based Agrokomerc to the Development Bank of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina should be completed by the end of April this year. This was confirmed to the Patria news agency by the judge presiding over this case before the Municipal Court in Velika Kladuša, Dragana Đerić – Cerović.

The Development Bank of FBiH will acquire the food industry of Agrokomerc, worth more than 25 million KM, for only 2.2 million KM!?

It is clear that the bank will not keep Agrokomerc for itself. It is important to monitor to whom the bank will sell Agrokomerc's assets after it becomes its owner in April this year.

A Patria source claims that the sale of Agrokomerc to the Development Bank of FBiH is one of the biggest post-war scandals in the Bosanska Krajina region.

The political leadership of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) knew about it from the very beginning. The sale of Agrokomerc's assets is directly supervised and managed by the Federal Prime Minister Fadil Novalić.

The Prime Minister reduced the company's assets, worth more than 25 million KM, to just 2.2 million KM. Along with him, his assistant Suvad Osmanagić and Minister of Agriculture Šemsudin Dedić worked on devaluing Agrokomerc. 

They were assisted by Sarajevo businessmen Nihad Imamović through the company "Ein Natural" and Mustafa Gadžo through the company "Silsila".

- The devalued assets of Agrokomerc will be sold by the Development Bank to a third party for only a slightly higher amount – claims this source. For such financial manipulation and obvious economic crime, all participants will receive certain compensations, with amounts of several hundred thousand marks being mentioned.

It should be noted that the head of the Development Bank is also an SDA man, the controversial Salko Selman from Travnik, against whom criminal charges have been filed in the prosecutor's office for malversations related to the construction of mini-hydropower plants in the Central Bosnia Canton.

As one of the potential buyers of Agrokomerc, to whom the Development Bank is allegedly set to sell the Velika Kladuša company, the Croatian company Zvečevo has been mentioned for some time.

The Croatian company had previously attempted to enter Velika Kladuša. There is certainly interest. Part of the production from Croatia would be moved to Bosnia and Herzegovina, thereby reducing labor costs by 50 percent compared to the price currently paid in the European Union...  

The devaluation of Agrokomerc's multi-million assets before the sale to the Development Bank of FBiH was carried out according to a strictly planned scheme devised by Novalić, Osmanagić, and Dedić.  

First, Sarajevo businessman Nihad Imamović offered 12 million KM for Agrokomerc at the beginning of the year, and the second bidder was Mustafa Gadžo with 5.5 million KM.

The Development Bank of FBiH offered 2.2 million KM for Agrokomerc, placing it third among the best bidders.

Just a few days before he was supposed to pay the money, Imamović withdrew from the purchase of Agrokomerc, justifying it by saying that an unknown man threatened to kill him and his family if he bought Agrokomerc. More than a month later, the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton still has no indication of who threatened Imamović. The Cantonal Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo confirmed to Patria that this case has not yet reached them. The Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton only informs them of new details regarding the Imamović case, which he reported on March 22, Patria was told.

Gadžo has still not offered an explanation as to why he withdrew from the purchase of Agrokomerc.

It is logical to ask how it is that the prosecutor's offices do not find the story surrounding the sale of Agrokomerc suspicious, starting from Imamović's withdrawal to Gadžo's silence. After all, this involves state capital, i.e., the property of the Government of FBiH, which those responsible should protect, not sell off at a pittance for personal interests.

According to unofficial information obtained by Patria from the Ministry of Agriculture, headed by Šemsudin Dedić, the most serious bidders for the purchase of Agrokomerc, before all others, were Turkish businessmen who offered 15 million KM. They even came to Sarajevo for talks.

According to some information, SDA President Bakir Izetbegović promised them that he would do everything to enable their purchase and further investment in Agrokomerc. However, the Turks suddenly withdrew, and it is speculated that Izetbegović was simultaneously negotiating with them while Novalić was developing a plan according to which the Velika Kladuša company would ultimately end up in the hands of Zvečevo. It is obvious that no one wanted serious investors to enter this story, because all participants in the Agrokomerc affair benefit more from the sale to Zvečevo.

Thus, the honorary citizen of Bihać, Bakir Izetbegović, instead of doing everything to revive the once-giant company from Velika Kladuša, sided with Novalić and company.