Illegally appointed members of the Supervisory Board of the FBiH Development Bank

The Government of the Federation of BiH has agreed to appoint the same persons for the second time as acting members of the Supervisory Board of the FBIH Development Bank (NO RB FBiH), although by law these appointments may not be repeated, and the political engagement of individual members is controversial.

Banja Luka 16. May 2020 — The Government of the Federation of BiH has agreed to appoint the same persons for the second time as acting members of the Supervisory Board of the FBIH Development Bank (NO RB FBiH), although by law these appointments may not be repeated, and the political engagement of individual members is controversial. In the Supervisory Board 17. In January this year, Igor Zivko, Almir Zulic, Amir Avdic, Mehmedalija Hadzovic, Adisa Arapovic-Omerbegovic, Bozo Vukoja and Zvonko Landeka were temporarily appointed. They are 12. The mandate was extended again in May, although the FBIH Law on Ministerial, Governmental and Other Appointments stipulates that these appointments are made for a period of three months and may not be repeated.

Also, the Law on the Development Bank clearly states that the President and members of the Supervisory Board cannot perform party duties in a political party, so from that point of view, the composition of the Supervisory Board is disputable. Namely, member of the Supervisory Board Adisa Arapović-Omerbegović performs the duty of vice president of SBB and is a member of the Presidency of this party, and Almir Zulić is a member of the Main Board of the DF, and according to the law

Transparency International in BiH has previously warned of irregularities in the appointment of RB FBIH bodies, especially in the case of former member of the Supervisory Board Mersiha Slijepcevic, who conditioned her resignation with the appointment of acting executive director. In this way, Slipičević was in a conflict of interest because she could influence not only her own appointment, but also working conditions, such as salary and other rights.

The Financial Police and the Banking Agency recently inspected the FBiH RB, examining the operations of this institution, in the part related to the appointments of the acting management, as well as the disputed loan placements. It is especially interesting that in the context of the disputed placements, the members of the supervisory board are mentioned, ie the company whose owner is a member of the Supervisory Board, Amir Avdić. According to the media, his company received a loan of around 256,000 KM from the Republic of FBiH, of which 128,000 KM was not returned and these funds are listed as uncollectible. According to media reports, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) also filed a report against Avdić for organized fraud and money laundering from Bobar Bank.

Earlier, TI BiH informed the Committee for Economic and Development Policy, Finance and Budget of the FBiH Parliament about the situation in this bank, proposing that the issue of appointing and operating a bank aimed at encouraging economic development be considered at the session. Instead, this bank is a hotbed of scandals, political conflicts and financial investigations, and its illegal work is especially visible in the sphere of political appointments, which are an obvious example of conflicts of interest. TI BiH warns that the FBIH Development Bank must get rid of political influence, especially because the Supervisory Board has a key role in appointing the credit committee, and invites the FBiH Parliament to discuss the situation in the FBiH Development Bank at one of the next sessions.

TI BiH reminds that the same problem exists in the Investment and Development Bank of Republika Srpska (RBI RS), because the recently appointed acting director Drazen Vrhovac currently serves as a member of the RS National Assembly, and is a member of the SNSD main board. The Law on the RBI and the statute of this bank clearly stipulate that members of the management board cannot perform duties in a political party and be members of the legislature, and Vrhovac currently performs all the above functions.

Press rls – 16.5.2020.