Economic expert Borislav Duljković today, during the continuation of the trial of the former Minister of Defense in the Council of Ministers Selmo Cikotić, said that by analyzing four disputed contracts on the sale of weapons and ammunition, the Ministry favored the company “Scout” from Zagreb, which damaged the budget by BAM 9.7 million.
Duljković stated that when preparing the findings and opinion, he used the documentation provided to him by the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the findings and opinion made by military expert Berko Zečević.
During the analysis of the first contract that the federal Ministry of Defense concluded with the company “Scout” on September 24, 2003, on the sale of unpromising, outdated military equipment, as well as surplus weapons and ammunition, the value of which is stated in the contract in the amount of 1,550,000 BAM, the expert determined that during the preparation of the annex to this contract, out of 113 items, 83 of them were deleted, reports BIRN.
“The lot of weapons was reduced, and the lot of ammunition was increased. The rockets included in the contract were not delivered, but 20,000 other rockets were sold at a price of 11 BAM per piece, while their market value was 136 dollars,” said the expert.
He added that the budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina was damaged by more than three million BAM with this contract and the related annexes.
In another similar contract between the Federal Ministry of Defense and “Scout” dated June 9, 2004, the value of which was 3,156,015 BAM, according to the findings and opinion of the expert, 110 items were deleted from the contract by annex, but the price in the contract remained the same .
“The total amount of damage to the budget, caused by the conclusion of the annex to the contract, amounts to 432,155 BAM”, stated the expert.
He said that the scenario was the same in the other two contracts, namely that the contract prices remained the same, while the amount of weapons and ammunition decreased or increased.
“By analyzing four contracts, as well as annexes to contracts and decisions of the Ministry of Defense from 2010, the BiH budget was damaged for a total of 9,709,468 BAM”, said Duljković.
He said that the company “Scout” bought weapons and ammunition from the Ministry, and then sold them to the Hadžići Technical and Repair Institute at higher prices.
“The property benefit that the “Scout” company acquired in this way amounts to 4,111,725 BAM”, the expert stated.
The indictment accuses Cikotić of damaging the BiH budget by 9.7 million BAM from 2009 to 2011 by abusing his official position by illegally favoring the company “Scout” to the detriment of the Ministry of Defense in the Council of Ministers, which he then headed, during the export plan and sale of surplus obsolete weapons, ammunition and military equipment.
Cikotić, as an official in the bodies of executive power in Bosnia and Herzegovina, caused damage to the budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina by his actions and obtained material benefits for others in a large amount, thereby committing the extended criminal offense of abuse of position or authority, according to the indictment.
The prosecution filed the expert’s findings and opinion in the court file, and the defense objected by objecting to its relevance.
“Your findings and opinion complement the findings of expert Berka Zečević,” said defense attorney Fahrudin Ibrišimović.
The continuation of the trial is scheduled for June 27, when the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina should complete the evidentiary proceedings by submitting material evidence, while the defense will present its proposal of evidence.
