SARAJEVO, July 10 (Hina) - A Croatian citizen, Tino Bralo, is believed to be the mastermind behind gross frauds in the payment of tariffs in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which recently caused the dismissal of Nikola Grabovac from the post of
the federal finance minister in the Croat-Bosniak entity, the Sarajevo press reported on Wednesday.
SARAJEVO, July 10 (Hina) - A Croatian citizen, Tino Bralo, is
believed to be the mastermind behind gross frauds in the payment of
tariffs in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which recently caused the dismissal
of Nikola Grabovac from the post of the federal finance minister in
the Croat-Bosniak entity, the Sarajevo press reported on
Wednesday. #L#
According to the "Oslobodjenje" daily, a scandal about the illegal
refund of the deposit, worth 1.7 million convertible marks, paid to
the Orasje-based "AM Sped" was just the tip of the iceberg. The
former Minister Grabovac had to leave the ministerial office after
it was established that he approved the refund, although the said
company produced false papers about the paid deposit.
Bralo, born in the Bosnian town of Livno with the registered
residence in Zagreb, is the owner of the "AM Sped".
The deposit should have been paid for the import of coffee, whose
value was assessed at seven million marks.
Subsequent investigations show that 20 trucks carrying the coffee
have never reached their ultimate buyer, nominated in the necessary
documentation for the import. Neither have the tariffs ever been
paid. Discovering suspicious transactions, the Bosnian federal
authorities asked Croatia's officials to help in further probes.
The investigation launched by the federal authorities showed that
the shipment of the coffee ended up in Serbia instead in the Bosnian
Serb entity.
Therefore Bralo is believed to have connections with business
people, involved in murky dealings, in Banja Luka and Belgrade.
Bralo seems to have shipped huge amounts of coffee and cigarettes
via Hungary to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the time when
an economic embargo was imposed on that country.
According to "Oslobodjenje", Bralo is currently holding 42 million
marks in the accounts which are now frozen due to the suspicion that
he is involved in criminal operations.
Another daily "Dnevni Avaz" links him with former Yugoslav Slobodan
Milosevic's son, Marko Milosevic, who is said to be connected with
international Mafia.
(hina) ms