The Jusufranić Case: A Car Wash for Better Business

When Ibrahim Jusufranić submitted an irrevocable resignation from the position of director of the Cantonal Public Utility Company (KJKP) GRAS in 2006 after 17 years of managing the company, he left behind a debt of 25.2 million KM, writes CIN, as reported by Patria.

Shortly after leaving GRAS, an investigation was launched against him on suspicion that he had caused the company nearly one million KM in damages.

In his private life, he made more successful moves: with his wife Smiljka and son Jasmin, he acquired assets worth at least 7.5 million KM.

Over ten years, the family purchased: three business premises, two plots of land and a devastated weekend cottage in Sarajevo, and land in Travnik on which they built a university.

Before that, they owned a house and a business premises in Sarajevo.

Following in Father's Footsteps

Jusufranić was the director of the public city transport company GRAS from 1989 to 2006.

For the next two years, he headed the company “Unioninvest – construction of facilities”. Son Jasmin did not separate from his father, so as a fresh graduate of the Sarajevo Faculty of Electrical Engineering in 2002, he got a job as the head of the IT Department at GRAS. He stayed there until January 2007, and in March became the head of the Technical Service of the company “Unioninvest – construction of facilities”. Both left the company in 2008.

By then, Jasmin Jusufranić was already the owner of two business premises in the Sarajevo neighborhood of Čengić Vila and a plot of land in the Osijek neighborhood.

The first premises of 43 square meters was bought for him by his father in June 2004 for 60,000 KM. The following year, together with his mother Smiljka, he bought a business premises of 208 square meters, paying 416,000 KM for it. The property was more expensive, but the Jusufranićs received a 10 percent discount because they paid for it in one lump sum.

Jasmin told journalists from the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN) that he does not know what property is in question: “I didn't buy anything, I don't know what premises you are talking about. (…) I'm hearing this for the first time, to be honest with you.”

The younger Jusufranić also bought a plot along the main road at the western exit from Sarajevo in the Osijek neighborhood in March 2006. He paid 90,000 KM for just over three dunams.

After the Federal Police Administration (FUP) opened an investigation against him in August 2007 for illegal share trading, Jasmin transferred his share in the business premises to his father and mother.

The Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office suspects him of tax evasion and money laundering, claiming that shareholders of the company “Unioninvest – construction of facilities” gave him 8,091 shares through fictitious gift contracts, which he actually paid for with around 353,000 KM.

That year, his mother Smiljka bought just over four dunams of land and a devastated weekend cottage in Miševići near Sarajevo for 77,000 KM.

This was her fifth registered property in Sarajevo since the early 1990s. Apart from the business premises she bought with her son, Smiljka Jusufranić has been the owner of another business premises since before the war. She bought a house with a one-dunam plot of land in 1999 for 81,500 KM. A newly built expensive villa with a swimming pool now stands there, where the Jusufranić couple lives.

Smiljka Jusufranić says that she and Ibrahim come from wealthy families and that they were well-off even before the war: “He and I know very well where to invest money and how to handle money. We are not spendthrifts.”

The last property, a business premises of 19 square meters in the Sarajevo neighborhood of Čengić Vila, was bought by Ibrahim Jusufranić in February 2014 for 20,000 KM.

Jusufranić refused to talk to CIN journalists about how he managed to finance the purchase of all the properties and the construction of the private university building over ten years.

After GRAS, a University

In mid-November 2006, Ibrahim Jusufranić founded the Faculty of Business and Technical Logistics (FPTL) in Travnik. Two months later, his son Jasmin became the owner of the Faculty of Transport. The same month, brother-in-law Branislav Petrović registered the Faculty of Economics.

Petrović was the head of the Tourist Office at GRAS during Jusufranić's mandate. The Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office accuses the two of them of manipulating tenders, thereby causing damage to the company.

In 2010, Jusufranić founded the International University “Travnik”, which today has seven faculties. Upon founding the University, Jusufranić needed space for its operation, so after five months he bought land near the “Pirota” football stadium in Travnik for 887,000 KM. Now, on an area of nearly seven dunams, there is a large building, parking lot, and landscaped grounds. According to financial data, just under six million KM was invested in construction and equipment by the end of 2014.

Ibrahim Jusufranić was more responsible towards his private company than towards the state-owned one. According to the Information on GRAS's operations, the company accumulated 25.2 million KM in debt from 2002 to 2005. The Cantonal Prosecutor's Office accused Jusufranić of causing the company nearly 883,000 KM in damages by deciding to purchase four car washes for GRAS vehicles from the Slovenian company “Elesprom” in 2004. The trial began in November last year.

The indictment states that Jusufranić insisted on an unnecessary procurement, even though he knew GRAS had no money for it. The damage resulted from interest on the loan the company had to take out to buy the car washes, and later from paying demurrage for car washes that were not operational because GRAS did not have permits for their installation and operation.

According to the indictment, in early 2004, Jusufranić proposed the procurement of car washes to the company's Management Board, while concealing the Report of the GRAS Working Group which stated there was no need for them. In his statement to the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office, he said that this was an internal report which he was not obliged to submit to the Board. In Jusufranić's opinion, by purchasing the car washes, GRAS would save money on salaries for over 60 cleaners who washed the vehicles by hand.

At the end of the same year, unaware of the Report, the Management Board accepted the offer from the Slovenian “Elesprom”.

Nine and a half years after delivery, the car washes, which GRAS paid 1.82 million KM for, are still not working. “Even today, the car washes are practically standing uninstalled. That is, one is installed, but it is not fully functional,” Sarajevo Canton prosecutor Senad Osmić told CIN.

Forgery to Win a Tender

In addition to this, the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office accuses Ibrahim Jusufranić of helping, together with Petrović, the Sarajevo branch of the German company “Hellner & More” to win a tender for the sale of advertising space in GRAS vehicles. In this way, they caused the company 95,700 KM in damages. Petrović was the informal director of this branch and found himself in a dual role when concluding the contract. Namely, the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office claims that Petrović, as chairman of the Commission for selecting the best bid, forged the tender documentation and, after the contract was concluded, signed documents for GRAS in which he manipulated the price of advertising space.

“It is true that Brane (Petrović) did not have any written authorization, but I considered that he was doing his job responsibly,” Jusufranić said during the hearing.

In mid-December last year, a hearing was held at which Jusufranić and Petrović pleaded not guilty.

They did not want to talk to CIN journalists at the time. When asked by journalists about his assets, Jusufranić's lawyers Senad Kreho and Muhidin Kapo said that he is a wealthy man, a hard worker, and that he owns his own university.

“The man is successful,” said lawyer Kapo.