"Ventilators Affair" still shaking Bosnia: Former Miss "sings" in Prosecutor's Office

Television presenter and former Miss New World Ana Bavrka was recently questioned in the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) as part of an investigation into the "Ventilators Affair," which refers to acquisition of 100 devices from China at a price of 10.5 million Bosnian marks, Avaz has learned.

She testified in the Prosecutor's Office of BiH as a witness, which indicates a very open possibility that she agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, given that her name was in the documents before.

For now, the suspects in this affair are Fadil Novalic, Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (FBiH) entity, Fahrudin Solak, director of the Federal Administration of Civil Defense, Fikret Hodzic, owner of the company Srebrena Malina, and Aleksandar Zolak, director of the Drug Agency.

The Prosecutor's Office of BiH suspects that they associated in order to commit criminal acts, including money laundering. The investigation, however, has been extended to cover more people. So far, dozens of witnesses have been interviewed, including Bavrka. She could also be a key witness, given her role in the company Srebrena Malina.

Specifically, Bavrka was hired by Hodzic as an expert in order to obtain a license to import medical equipment. She has a degree in radiological technology, having graduated from the Faculty of Health Studies in Mostar.

As previously reported, the Prosecution believes that she "posed" as a radiologist (doctor) for several hours in order for Zolak to grant Hodzic all permits and show her as a radiologist in the paperwork. But the question is who insisted on this, and why Zolak accepted it. During Zolak's hearing, the prosecution stressed that the persons proposed by Srebrena Malina did not receive appropriate education and had not passed the professional exam.

In addition, according to the register of wholesalers who have a license issued by the Agency for Trade in Medical Devices Refija Suljakovic is now listed as the key person for monitoring funds on behalf of Srebrena Malina.

However, the first list of the register, which Avaz possesses, contained Bavrka's name, which has been removed. Unofficial informations says that Bavrka asked Hodzic to do so after the affair broke out, and she then terminated her contract with this company.

Ventilators are still at the airport

The 20 ventilators that Srebrena Malina imported from China to Bosnia and Herzegovina on May 27 are still at the Sarajevo Airport. This has been confirmed by Ratko Kovacevic, a spokesman for the Indirect Taxation Administration of BiH. The Drug Agency must give permission to complete the customs procedure.

(Telegraf.rs)