Trial in the 'Respirators' case - Solak: It turns out the Prime Minister and the Minister don't know what they are paying for

SARAJevo, (Patria) - At the trial for abuses during the procurement of respirators, witnesses for the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina were questioned about transactions through the Treasury of the Federal Ministry of Finance, through which more than ten million KM were paid to "Srebrena malina".

Senior clerk in the Treasury Mahira Šetić said she saw that the funds were paid for respirators, while the assistant to the Minister of Finance Mario Glibić said that it was not stated on the order, writes BIRN BiH.

After numerous questions about whether and on which form the purpose of the payment was stated, and whether the minister was consulted for the payment of money upon urgency, the accused Fahrudin Solak commented: "Apparently, then the minister and the prime minister do not know what they are paying for".

For abuses during the procurement of respirators, the accused are Federal Prime Minister Fadil Novalić, suspended director of FUCZ Fahrudin Solak, director of the company "F.H. Srebrena malina" Fikret Hodžić, as well as the company itself, and Federal Minister of Finance Jelka Milićević, who is charged with negligent work, reports BIRN.

Šetić claims that on April 3, 2020, they received an urgent request from the Federal Civil Protection Administration (FUCZ) after they had made payments according to the orders of budget users for that day. She stated that the urgency concerned the payment to "Srebrena malina" in the amount of about 4.9 and 5.5 million KM.

Šetić said that her colleague Almira Ibišević went to assistant Mario Glibić to see what to do with that payment. According to her information, Glibić said that he had to check with the minister since it was a larger amount.

"They informed us that we can carry out the transaction," said witness Šetić.

She explained that her service sends orders to the bank after the signature of the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister. Šetić initially said that the payment was probably for respirators, and later confirmed that she saw that "respirators" were entered on one form.

Witness Mario Glibić said that his colleagues informed him that an urgent payment request had arrived, but he does not remember if he knew the purpose at the time.

"I told Mahira or Almira to do it," said Glibić, adding that the payment was made from the sub-account of FUCZ and from the main account.

To the questions of Jelka Milićević's defense, the witness said that the Treasury processes 200,000 payment orders for budget users annually, and that an amount of five million does not require special attention.

Stating that the previous witness said she saw on the invoice that the money was intended for respirators, defense attorney Senka Nožica asked Glibić if that was visible on the order, which was presented in the courtroom. He said that it was not stated on the order, and that the minister signs that order. This witness added that there was no reason to stop the payment, and that the heads of institutions are responsible for managing their budgets.

Solak's defense presented the witness with a form in which respirators were listed in one field. Glibić said that he does not deal with those forms, and that he assumes that his colleagues who make payments have access to them.

The examination of Glibić will continue, so that everyone in the courtroom can become acquainted with the documents he said he possesses, which relate to Government sessions.

Witness Dževad Turnadžić recounted how the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had engaged him to perform freight forwarding services for the donation of respirators and other medical equipment to Montenegro.

He confirmed that the incoming documentation included a proforma invoice, which was presented in the courtroom and which states 50 respirators at a price of 6,000 US dollars per unit, or a total of 300,000.

Turnadžić said that these respirators are the same as those that the UAE had previously donated to BiH. He explained that the donated respirators for BiH were held at customs and that he saw that the boxes were identical. He claims not to remember the markings on the boxes, but stated that they were the same as those for Montenegro.

To Novalić's defense attorney Vasvija Vidović, the witness confirmed that the UAE representative contacted him on June 4, 2020, and that he does not know when that country acquired the respirators, nor whether their price changed during the pandemic.

To the questions of the accused Hodžić, Turnadžić confirmed that in proforma invoices for donations, it can happen that the actual price of the goods or a symbolic one is stated.

Witness Jovana Šehovac said that she worked as security at the reception desk at FUCZ and that after the start of the pandemic, mail was left at the entrance, and visitors were allowed in by appointment. She confirmed that Hodžić came two or three times.

The trial continues on January 28.