POLJAKOVIĆ: ADMINISTRATIVE AND MISDEMEANOR PROCEEDINGS INITIATED AGAINST BNT COMPANY

SARAJEVO, JANUARY 5 /SRNA/ – A number of irregularities have been identified in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles at the company “BNT – Machinery and Hydraulics Factory” from Novi Travnik, prompting the initiation of administrative and misdemeanor proceedings, said Chief Inspector at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations within the Council of Ministers, Njegoš Poljaković.

“For more than a year, drones have been discussed in public, and it is our obligation to provide the public with accurate and verified information, without disinformation and speculation,” Poljaković told reporters. He explained that in BiH, the production of weapons and military equipment may be carried out only by registered companies, with prior approval from the relevant entity government and a decision issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations within the Council of Ministers. “For each specific product, there must be a contract and approval from the Ministry, and in the case of export, an end-user certificate is also required,” Poljaković stressed. According to him, the company BNT submitted a request to the Ministry for the development of two drone prototypes: one for single-use in a quantity of 10 units and one for multiple-use in a quantity of two units, with a development deadline of 30 days. “In its request, BNT stated that development and production would be carried out at its own facilities, while components such as batteries, motors and control systems would be provided by subcontractors,” Poljaković said. An inspection conducted in November determined that six single-use aircraft and one multi-use aircraft had been produced, while two were in a disassembled state for testing. However, a subsequent report submitted by BNT stated that 10 single-use aircraft and two multi-use aircraft had been produced, but the data did not correspond to the actual situation. “On-site inspections established that nothing was produced at BNT and that development and production were carried out by three subcontractor companies,” Poljaković emphasized. Final inspections showed that eight single-use aircraft were produced, one multi-use aircraft and one aircraft in an unfinished phase of approximately 80 percent. He added that, based on these shortcomings, administrative proceedings were initiated to revoke BNT’s license, as well as misdemeanor proceedings against the responsible individual and the legal entity. “This is an example that all production of weapons and military equipment in BiH must be strictly controlled,” Poljaković said. Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations within the Council of Ministers Staša Košarac issued a decision revoking the license of the company “BNT” from Novi Travnik for drone production after inspection findings established that the legal entity had violated a number of provisions of the Law on the Production of Weapons and Military Equipment.