Uzunović Hides Behind Workers: Union Silent on Arrests, Company Invokes Laws!

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Workers held protests today in front of the Bosnalijek building, wanting to convey that the company is allegedly under attack by a group of shareholders who 'illegally' want to take over management of Bosnalijek, thereby jeopardizing operations and the jobs of its employees!? 

They accuse AS Holding and Hercegovinalijek of acting jointly to take over the company by violating takeover laws, hiding share ownership behind custodial accounts!?

Interestingly, the workers' initiative and reaction were absent twice when the company's director, Nedim Uzunović, was arrested on suspicion of illegal dealings at Bosnalijek!? At that time, workers did not fear for their jobs!?

Questions addressed to Edhem Mulaosmanović, president of the Bosnalijek union organization, remained unanswered and were as follows:

„Director Nedim Uzunović is suspected of serious criminal offenses at Bosnalijek, how is it possible that workers allegedly defend him unconditionally, and what is the goal of today's gathering?

Do you believe that Deloitte, by delaying and failing to provide a report, is causing incalculable damage to the company?

The calmness with which the Management 'exudes' while an atmosphere of a 'hostile' takeover by a domestic company is being created is astonishing, while you remained indifferent to reports of a possible arrival of Galenika; please explain?“

Due to all this, suspicion arises that Uzunović is actually hiding behind the workers, and we have requested answers from Bosnalijek to questions that could clarify what is actually happening in the largest pharmaceutical company in BiH.

Without editorial intervention, we publish the questions and answers received from Bosnalijek:

Why has the financial report not been provided until now? Is one of the reasons the fact that director Nedim Uzunović was in custody?

- The financial report has been provided and submitted to the financial information agency within the legal deadline, and it is also available on the official website of the Sarajevo Stock Exchange.
  
Are the company's Management or the Union authorized by law to determine which assembly is legal and which is not?

All company bodies are obliged to act in accordance with the law and to ensure, among other things, the legality of the work of the Company Assembly. For all questions regarding the activities of the Union, you will have to contact the union directly, as it is a body not under the jurisdiction of the company's management, in accordance with the law.
 
Is Deloitte refusing to issue a report due to suspicious actions and activities being carried out at Bosnalijek?

We inform you that we have no knowledge that Deloitte is refusing to issue a report. It is in the final phase of completing the audit. What has certainly affected the duration of the audit are the constant disavowals by a group of shareholders through the media and certain individuals who falsely represented themselves and misinformed the public, and consequently the auditor, about the change of the supervisory board and management. All of the above led to a delay in issuing the report because the auditor was obliged to additionally verify such claims through their procedures.
Such actions also disavowed banks and led to problems in communication with other institutions in BiH, as well as business partners.
 
The director is suspected of serious criminal offenses at Bosnalijek; how is it possible that workers allegedly defend him unconditionally?

This is a question for the workers of Bosnalijek. We assume it is because during this director's mandate, Bosnalijek achieved the best business results in its history and improved the status of workers and the wider community. If you compare business results up to 2014 and from 2014 onwards, you will see a significant improvement in all financial parameters year after year.
 
Is Deloitte the external auditor, and was the auditor given everything needed to prepare the report?

Yes, Deloitte is the external auditor, and everything was submitted as requested for the preparation of the report, and the delays occurred due to the reason mentioned above.
 
Do you believe that Deloitte, by delaying and failing to provide a report, is causing incalculable damage to the company?

We believe that Deloitte, as one of the most respected global audit companies, was forced to carry out additional audit procedures due to the aforementioned actions of the group of shareholders and related persons, which prolonged the audit. We remind you that the intention of this group of shareholders was to slow down and prevent the issuance of the report within the planned deadlines, and we consider the aforementioned group of shareholders, who falsely represented themselves and provided false information, to be the main culprits for the incalculable damage.
 
The calmness with which the Management 'exudes' while an atmosphere of a 'hostile' takeover by a domestic company is being created is astonishing, while you remained indifferent to reports of a possible arrival of Galenika; please explain?

The company's Management is responsible for lawful operations and has no problem with any activities carried out in accordance with the law.
 
Incidentally, we remind you that the State Court, with a somewhat strange and unexpected decision, lifted some of the prohibition measures and allowed Uzunović to again manage and dispose of the company's assets. 

And so Uzunović 'deals' with two proceedings (one led by the State, and the other by the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo) but does not give up his director position, even though he is compromised by investigations and arrests.

(A. Čorbo-Zećo)