The company that owns the factory that burned down overnight in East Sarajevo said on Sunday it will sue the leader of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) for stating the facility was state property and that the fire might have been set intentionally to conceal wrongdoing.
After flames engulfed the halls of the closed factory ‘Energoinvest-RAOP’ on Saturday evening, the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) expressed suspicions that foul play may be behind it.
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“In this blaze, the largest hall burned down although the electricity was shut off there more than a year ago and machines were taken out of there which were then illegally sold in Zenica,” the SDS said, adding that more than seven criminal complaints were submitted over it in 2019 alone.
The party expressed suspicion that the fire was set to hide crimes which had for years been pushed under the carpet and called upon prosecutors to urgently investigate.
But according to the press statement by ‘Elektroinzinjering d.o.o. Banja Luka’, the property was purchased by the company owned by Milan Keserovic and Tatjana Korobovska in 2013.
“Presenting the private property of a legal entity as the property of the state, which the state should ‘protect’ and view as its own (solely because it was once owned by it), harms the business of the company and at the same time is grossly misleading for the public. Such behaviour represents a direct violation of property rights, contrary to state laws and international conventions,” the company’s statement said.
It said that there are no illegal activities in the company’s business and that any decision that was made regarding what will be done with the property is in accordance with the law and business interests.
“We inform the public that the fire was an accident which was the responsibility of the firm Tola Company. Tola Company has accepted the responsibility for the outbreak of the fire and will pay for any resulting damage to the company,” it said.
The statement also said that nothing but the building materials built into the roof and walls were burnt down and called allegations that the fire was caused intentionally to conceal alleged unlawful activities “malicious.”
The statement added that the company will initiate civil proceedings for compensation and submit a criminal lawsuit against SDS leader Mirko Sarovic and others who have “by writing and communicating false information endangered the business interests and damaged the Company's reputation” and created the wrong impression that the property belonged to the state, as well as that dangerous substances were set ablaze.
