Canton Sarajevo Prosecutor's Office: Statute of 'Rad' changed because of Salamović, he produced a forged certificate of work experience from a company he founded

(Patria) - At the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo today, before Judge Jasmina Sazdovski, the proposal of the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office for imposing prohibition measures against the director of KJKP Rad Nijaz Salamović and the former president of the Supervisory Board of that cantonal company, Reuf Sulejmanović, was considered.

The two were arrested two days ago on suspicion of irregularities in that company, related to the appointment of Salamović first as acting executive director for economic and legal affairs, and later as director of KJKP Rad.

Both arrived at today's hearing from freedom, as the Prosecutor's Office did not request detention for them. It was requested that they be prohibited from performing the function of director of KJKP Rad (Salamović), i.e., executive director of Railways of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sulejmanović).

As could be heard at the hearing, Salamović is charged with the criminal offenses of abuse of position, forgery of an official document, and forgery of a document, while Sulejmanović is charged with the criminal offense of abuse of official position during his time as president of the Supervisory Board of KJKP Rad.

According to prosecutor Nina Šahinpašić, the essence of the whole story is that Salamović has been illegally performing the job of acting executive director for economic and legal affairs of "Rad" since May 2021, and as director of this cantonal company since February this year.

She stated, among other things, that witnesses said his appointment was the result of an agreement between the political parties NiP and Our Party. These two parties, according to witness statements, were "assigned" the management of KJKP Rad after the elections.

According to the testimony of Vera Arnautović, former director of "Rad", also a suspect in this case, the party's personnel commission proposed that Salamović be appointed as acting executive director.

At that time, he was a member of the Supervisory Board of that company.

That there was a prior agreement, the prosecutor explained, is clear from the fact that when submitting his resignation from the Supervisory Board, Salamović cited taking the position of acting executive director as the reason.

- On May 5, 2021, at a session of the Supervisory Board chaired by Reuf Sulejmanović, the proposal of Vera Arnautović that Salamović be appointed was considered - the prosecutor stated.

She explained that on that occasion, he submitted a biography stating that he had work experience as a sales representative in two companies, and that he was the director of the legal entity Dilber d.o.o., of which he is the founder.

- It was clear that he could not be appointed to that position, for which three years of experience in a managerial position was required. Everyone was aware of that. Salamović had previously informed Vera Arnautović that he could not obtain a certificate from the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute - the prosecutor explained.

She added that despite this, he was unanimously appointed, and that his contract was extended for another six months in November. In December of the same year, the Office for the Fight against Corruption of the Sarajevo Canton requested a statement from KJKP Rad as to whether Salamović met the conditions.

A session of the Company Assembly was held, chaired by Adelina Džanković (also a suspect in this case), "at which the suspects stated that the company's legal department had checked and that there were no obstacles."

- At this session of the Assembly, it was concluded that Salamović meets the conditions and that this follows from the certificate of the company Dilber d.o.o., which is his - the prosecutor stated, adding that Sulejmanović signed it.

Then, in March 2022, the Supervisory Board changed the Statute of KJKP Rad and changed the previous condition of three years of service in managerial positions, which now reads three years of work experience in managerial positions.

Salamović had neither service nor experience when the Statute was changed.

- At the session of the Supervisory Board, member Mirza Mujarić (appointed to that position after Salamović resigned) asked, "Is Salamović's problem being solved in this way?", to which he was told that the problem was solved - the prosecutor stated.

She added that Salamović again submitted a certificate of work experience as commercial director in his company from August 2020 to the end of April 2022, although there is evidence that in the period from 2010 to 2021 he worked as a sales representative and sales manager in other companies.

After that, a new session of the Supervisory Board was held at which a decision was made to dismiss Salamović from the position of acting director with the aim of correcting the irregularities identified by the Office for the Fight against Corruption, and then at the same session they reappointed him to the same position, without checking whether he met the necessary conditions.

After that, his contract was extended every six months, and the tender procedure was never carried out, although, as the prosecutor stated, after March 2022 there is no justification for that.

- The tender was announced only after Vera Arnautović met the conditions for retirement - the prosecutor stated.

She added that members of the Supervisory Board stated that the company's management asked the Supervisory Board to postpone the tender and that "Salamović was the loudest in that."

- He then submits a third certificate from the company Dilber in the tender, stating that he was commercial director from 2016 to 2020. The certificate is signed by his brother, although at that time the director was his wife - the prosecutor stated, as reported by Faktor.

The prosecutor said that the evidence shows that the suspects used their official positions both in the Supervisory Board and in the position of director.

- No consideration was given to the interests of the company or the citizens of the Sarajevo Canton. They not only illegally appointed Salamović, they also changed the Statute "to solve his problem" - Šahinpašić stated.

She said she is seeking prohibition measures because the suspects claim they see no illegality in the appointment of Nijaz Salamović, which implies they will continue committing criminal acts. She emphasized that immediately after resigning from the position of president of the Supervisory Board of KJKP Rad, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina gave prior consent for the appointment of Reuf Sulejmanović as executive director of Railways of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- Only because he is a party member, it doesn't matter which one, that means he will be primarily responsible to politics, not to citizens, and that is something we as the judiciary must not allow - Šahinpašić concluded.

Sanjin Pešto, the lawyer of Nijaz Salamović, opposed the imposition of a measure prohibiting his client from performing the director function, stating that he received the proposal and heard the explanation and concluded that "there are no facts, only interpretations."

- Statutes, codes of ethics, and other things are being treated here, which belong to the domain of disciplinary proceedings, and certainly not criminal proceedings before the Cantonal Court - Pešto asserted, adding that "what the defense considers indisputable, the Prosecutor's Office treats as a criminal offense."

He said that at the moment when his client applied for the tender, "he did not do so as a director, but as Nijaz Salamović, a natural person," that he is suspected of changing the Statute, "something that other persons do, something over which he has no influence." He also said that "the political division of positions is not a criminal offense."

He also stated that KJKP Rad "after a number of years has been operating successfully since Salamović has been at the helm of that company," and that he opposes the prohibition measure "because it would cause more harm than good, because there is no one to sign contracts, orders, workers' salaries..."

He also said that one cannot speak of illegally acquired property gain "because it is money that was earned, acquired in the form of salary."

Salamović himself also said that he is the only one registered in the court register, and that this prohibition "would cause unforeseeable consequences for KJKP Rad," that they have contracts and that "already from next week they would not be able to collect garbage."

Nikica Gržić, the lawyer of Reuf Sulejmanović, said that the Prosecutor's Office's proposal is "imprecise, i.e., general."

Among other things, he said that all decisions of the Supervisory Board are attributed to Sulejmanović as if he made them alone, but they are decisions of a collective body, which were made unanimously and he signed them.

- My client is a graduate economist. All documentation comes from the Company Management, which has its own departments - personnel, legal... there is no objection from the expert services regarding the certificate of the company Dilber that was submitted - Gržić said, adding that "Vera Arnautović is the one who proposed him, which means then that she did not perform her duty, and that the members of the Supervisory Board unanimously elected him."

He referred to the statement of the former Minister of Communal Affairs, Enver Hadžiahmetović, who said that "Vera had to submit the proposal for Salamović and that she was obliged to check whether he met the necessary conditions."

- She was an employee and responsible person in the company, not my client, who held sessions ad hoc."

He also said that "the proposal is based on assumptions." He commented on the Prosecutor's Office's claim that "Sulejmanović could be appointed to another public company," saying that it would be "absurd to prohibit him from working in another legal entity."

In response to the defenses, the prosecutor stated that 76 pieces of material evidence were submitted with the proposal, and "that nothing is a construction and nothing is stated arbitrarily."

She reminded that in this case, Vera Arnautović and other members of the Supervisory Board, Lejla Dragnić and Mirza Mujarić, as well as Adelina Džanković as the representative of the Sarajevo Canton Government in the Assembly of KJKP Rad, are also suspects.

- Just like the director who proposes, the Supervisory Board also has a duty to check - the prosecutor said.

When asked by the judge why she is seeking prohibition measures only in relation to Sulejmanović and not the others, the prosecutor said that the other members of the Supervisory Board are not in any other function, that Vera Arnautović is retired, and that Adelina Džanković is an employee of the Centar Municipality, but that "the weight of her actions does not have the same weight as that of Reuf Sulejmanović."

The court will announce its decision later.