Regardless of the lawsuits, arrests, and indictments: The multi-million cooperation between the Tuzla Salt Mine and the company Mining and Drilling continues

In August of last year, the Tuzla Salt Mine initiated the procurement of services for drilling and equipping exploration and exploitation wells on the Tetima rock salt deposits. The call to collect the tender documents was sent to 11 suppliers. By the scheduled deadline, only one offer was submitted—by the company Mining and Drilling d.o.o. Gračanica. Its final offer was 3.698.876 BAM, excluding VAT. The contract was concluded at the end of November last year.

In September of this year, the Audit Office of the institutions in the published a report on the financial audit of the Salt Mine for 2023, revealing previous issues in its cooperation with Mining and Drilling. The report stated that, the Salt Mine filed a lawsuit against this company in the Municipal Court in Tuzla in May 2022 due to delays in the execution of works.

“On May 13, 2024, the Municipal Court in Tuzla rendered a verdict in favor of the Mine, ordering the defendant to pay 231.538 KM with statutory default interest starting from November 18, 2022, as a contractual penalty for delays in the performance of works until payment is made. The said amount hasn’t been paid by the end of the audit”, read the report on the financial audit of the Salt Mine for 2023.

A logical question is why the mine is doing business with a company it has been litigating against for the past few years?

ARRESTS, INDICTMENTS, VERDICT

The contract for which the Salt Mine sued Mining and Drilling was signed in early 2021. Shortly after the signing of the contract, worth 5.5 million marks, six people were detained on suspicion of tender rigging. The persons arrested then were Atif and Dženan Mujkić as responsible individuals at “Mining and Drilling”, followed by the former directors of the Mine, Amir Sušić and Aziz Čačković, the then president of the Supervisory Board of the Mine, Amir Tursunović, and the then member of the BiH Parliament, Enver Bijedić.

In December 2021, the Municipal Court in Gračanica confirmed the indictment against nine individuals for obtaining benefits and rigging a deal worth 5.5 million marks in the “Tuzla Salt Mine” case. Along with those responsible at Mine and the company Mining and Drilling, members of the commission that conducted the tender were also accused, with Enver Bijedić identified as the organizer of this group.

“There is reasonable suspicion that in the period from September 2019 to February 2021 the accused were aware of and agreed to be part of a group organized by Bijedić (as an influential figure and president of a political party that  had significant influence over the Mine’s management through its cadre). This group, persuaded and instigated by Mujkić, aimed to obtain benefits for Mining and Drilling and the Mujkić family by ensuring that the company received a privileged position and preferential treatment as a bidder in the tender for the contract to execute works on the exploration and exploitation wells at the Tetima rock salt deposit of the Tuzla Salt Mine”, read the indictment.

In an interview with Žurnal, Enver Bijedić, named in the indictment as the organizer of this group, claims that the entire process against him was politically staged to undermine his party.

- According to these documents, I was wiretapped for 20 months. There is not a single thing against me. Absolutely nothing. They wiretapped me, recorded conversations, and took pictures….and imagine how many people were  working on that without any results, says Bijedić.

Communication with Admir Suljagić, the director of the Secretariat of the HJPC, was discovered during the wiretap. Bijedić states that there is nothing controversial in his communication with Suljagić

- My friend, who was highly ranked in the HJPC at that time, sent me a message asking me if I can do anything to have a local company win the contract, as it was the time of Corona virus. I want to emphasize that when the 30% preference was in effect, domestic companies could be 30% more expensive for the same jobs, and that preference was not applied in this case because the other company was cheaper. He asked what I could do to help the company from Gračanica secure a job. I responded clearly, saying that I have nothing to do with that and it was read in the court, said Bijedić.

When asked who that friend from the HJPC is and why he would contact him regarding a company from Gračanica, Bijedić identifies him as Admir Suljagić and notes that the then-director of that company, Dženan Mujkić, is a friend of Suljagić.

- They are friends, acquaintances—maybe even from the same place. But I told him, I have nothing to do with it. There are administrative bodies, a tender commission, a director, and a board of directors. They decide; no one ask for my opinion there, said Bijedić.

CORRUPTION OR INFLUENCE OF PERSONAL CONNECTIONS?

Communication with Suljagić was also confirmed by Dženan Mujkić, the then-director of Mining and Drilling. In an interview with Žurnal, Mujkić stated he sees nothing controversial in their relationship, emphasizing their long-standing friendship.

- Everything is completely benign; not a single person tried, let alone started any action that would be associated with rigging or corruption. We were simply interested in whether Mine plans to operate during the corona period—a pure search for information, said Mujkić.

In the middle of last year, media outlets published correspondence purportedly between Admir Suljagić and Dženan Mujkić, one of those arrested in the “Mine” operation. The correspondence suggested favoritism, indicating that favors were granted to individuals serving prison sentences in Orašje. A month later, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina opened a case against Suljagić, the director of the Secretariat of the HJPC, following information sent by the president of that judicial institution. This information highlighted media reports claiming that Suljagić favored convicts and influenced the appointment of judges. 

Like Enver Bijedić, Mujkić asserts that everything in the indictment is a “construction and farce”, that an acquittal is to be expected.

- There were 46 hearings with more than 35 prosecution witnesses, yet not a single defense witness. We didn’t even attempt to defend ourselves because there’s nothing to defend against when it’s clear that the entire indictment is fabricated. The verdict was entirely expected, as no evidence was presented to the court incriminating any of the nine defendants, said Mujkić

Mujkić states that after the indictment was raised, he left the company Mining and Drilling, which has since been taken over by his business colleague, Sabit Džafić. Both Bijedić and Mujkić agree that “Mining and Drilling” will not have any problem in doing business with Salt Mine because there will not be any competition in the market.

- No one else submitted an offer, so that company secured the job again last year. They have now significantly raised the price for that well. Within two years, the price increased by 50%, and they had no choice but to accept it—they have no competitors. No one from abroad is willing to come forward, as who would risk being arrested again for something trivial?, said Bijedić.

In mid-July of this year, the Municipal Court in Gračanica issued a first-instance verdict in the Tuzla Salt Mine case. However, three months later, the verdict has still not been delivered to the defendants involved in the proceedings. The Prosecutor’s Office of Tuzla Canton also reports that the Municipal Court in Gračanica has not yet provided them with a written communication of the verdict.

“After the submission of the written communication, the verdict will be analyzed, and a decision will be made regarding whether to file an appeal with the Tuzla Cantonal Court”, said the Prosecutor’s Office of Tuzla Canton.

In response to Žurnal’s inquiry, the Municipal Court in Gračanica stated that the written communication of the verdict has not yet been issued due to the complexity of the case, the large number of defendants, and the volume of evidence involved.

Three and a half years after the indictment, the case remains unresolved, and its conclusion will depend on the decision of the Prosecutor’s Office of Tuzla Canton regarding whether to appeal the acquittal. In the meantime, as our interlocutors have indicated, the Tuzla Salt Mine faces no obstacles to continuing its cooperation with Mining and Drilling.

A RULEBOOK FOR NOTHING

The rulebook on procurement of the Salt Mine states that if the Mine is involved in a court dispute related to the implementation of a procurement contract with any potential bidders, those bidders will be barred from participating in future procurement procedures conducted by the Mine. Additionally, auditors found that the contract from 2023 was not fully executed. While services for two of the three wells were completed according to the contract, the records of the handover of the completed work were made in March and May of this year. However, for one well, no documentation was provided to the auditors to confirm whether the work had been performed.

“Based on the above, we conclude that the procurement of services for drilling and equipping the directional exploration and exploitation wells B-42 and B-49, as well as the vertical exploration and exploitation well B-90 on the Tetima rock salt deposit, was not conducted in accordance with the Rulebook on procurement”, wrote the auditors.

The Joint Stock Company “Tuzla Salt Mine” is majority-owned, 72 percent, by the Tuzla Canton Government, but regardless of this fact, the Mine does not apply the Public Procurement Law (PPL) when purchasing goods and services. Instead of using the PPL the Mine conducts procurement under the Rulebook adopted by the Mine’s management. The Government of Tuzla Canton, in response to Žurnal’s inquiry, said that they have not received the Report on the Financial Audit of the Salt Mine for consideration, and that they are still not officially familiar with its content. The report was published in September of this year on the official website of the Office for the Audit of the Institutions in the FBiH.

- The Government of Tuzla Canton is currently informed only through segmented media reports, which limits its ability to comment in detail. Once the official document is received and thoroughly reviewed, the Government will take an official position on it during a session. However, it is known that the Tuzla Salt Mine provided several explanations and suggestions to the FBiH Audit Office regarding the issues raised, including those you referred to. For reasons unknown to them, these explanations were not accepted by the Audit Office, said the Government of Tuzla Canton.

In addition, they stated that the Tuzla Salt Mine is a joint-stock company operating under market conditions, with the Government of Tuzla Canton being just one of the capital owners. They emphasized that the Mine and its person responsible bear accountability for their actions and decisions, and noted that the Mine should provide explanations for the questions raised. After the publication of the Financial Audit Report, Žurnal reached out to the Tuzla Salt Mine to discuss its business cooperation with Mining and Drilling as well as the Audit Report. However, the Mine declined to discuss the topic, only responding to the questions we sent to the Government of Tuzla Canton 15 days after the initial inquiry. Along with their response, we also received an invitation to visit the Mine.

In response to Žurnal’s inquiry, the Mine said that “the statements from the media inquiry are incorrect and not based on relevant documentation.”

“These statements were drawn from the Report of the FBiH Audit Office for the year 2023, which was contested due to inaccurate data”, read Mine’s response.

Regarding the information from the audit report, the Mine asserts that they did not violate their own rulebook in awarding the contract to the company “Mining and Drilling”. They explain that the procurement procedure was conducted according to the old rulebook, rather than the new ones referenced in the FBiH Audit Office Report.

“The tender for the aforementioned procurement was published on August 5 and 6, 2023. We would like to remind you that the new Rulebook on Procurement came into effect on August 29, 2023. Article 38 of the new Rulebook stipulates that all procurement procedures initiated before the entry into force of this Rulebook will be completed according to the provisions of the Rulebook dated December 17, 2013”, read the response of the Tuzla Salt Mine.

However, the Mine neglected to mention that although the Office accepted their complaint, it did not alter the information in the Report.

“We would like to emphasize that the procurement procedure was initiated in the same month the new Rulebook was adopted. Given the value of the procedure, 3.698.876 BAM, and the already initiated court case, it was necessary to react promptly to protect the Company, especially considering that the contract with the selected supplier was concluded on November 30, 2023,” stated the FBiH auditors.

Additionally, this procurement was one of the reasons why the Tuzla Salt Mine received a qualified opinion on the compliance audit from the FBiH auditors. Regarding the previous contract that “Mining and Drilling” had with the Salt Mine, which has been under criminal proceedings for three and a half years, the Mine asserts that the contract was executed and that the lawsuit arose from a delay in the execution of the works.

“In the mentioned procedure, a first-instance verdict was issued on May 13, 2024. The defendant filed an appeal on June 12, 2024, which is why the case has not yet been legally concluded. As a result, the defendant’s obligation toward the plaintiff has not yet arisen”, read the response of the Tuzla Salt Mine.

It is interesting to note that despite the delays in the execution of the works, the indictment, and the lawsuit, the Salt Mine issued a certificate of successful contract implementation to the company Mining and Drilling.

The company “Mining and Drilling” did not respond to Žurnal’s inquiry, although they indicated in a telephone conversation that they would provide feedback on our request for an interview. As of the publication of this text, we have not received a response. Despite the lawsuits, arrests, and indictments, Tuzla Salt Mine and “Mining and Drilling” are continuing their multi-million cooperation.

(zurnal.info)