FBiH MOTORWAYS UNABLE TO WITHDRAW FUNDS FOR MORE THAN SIX MONTHS

SARAJEVO, December 22 /SRNA/ - The European Investment Bank /EIB/ has suspended the withdrawal of all its operational loans intended for the construction of Corridor Vc, according to an internal document of the Public Company FBiH Motorways submitted to the Government of the Federation of BiH.

FBiH Motorways have been unable to withdraw EIB funds for more than six months, federal media report, having published a facsimile of the document. Although the report submitted to the Government of the Federation of BiH does not specify the reasons why the EIB has not allowed financing for Corridor Vc, the suspension coincides with an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office /EPPO/ against the management of FBiH Motorways. The EPPO in Venice has formally designated six persons as suspects, including three public officials from the Federation of BiH, in connection with alleged cross-border corruption in the project for the construction of the Pan-European motorway corridor linking Hungary and eastern Croatia with BiH and the Adriatic Sea. According to an EPPO statement issued in early October, the investigation concerns a 35-kilometre section between Medakovo and Poprikuše, specifically a consultancy project worth four million euros within the broader motorway construction project valued at 340 million euros. The project is financed by the EIB with 87 percent, while the remaining 13 percent is funded from budgetary resources in BiH. The investigation was launched after the EIB reported suspicions to the EPPO of manipulation in the procurement process for consultancy services related to the motorway, allegedly favouring an Italian company based in Verona. According to earlier reports by federal media, those under investigation include Director General of FBiH Motorways Denis Lasić, Executive Director Asmir Dževlan, company consultant Erdal Trhulj, and public procurement officer Katica Vranjković. In its report to the Government of the Federation of BiH, FBiH Motorways state that the public company has in recent years been "faced with liquidity problems in its operations, which have become particularly pronounced over the past three years".