The company Prointer from Banja Luka claims that the American tech giant Microsoft did not remove it from the list of partners, but that it is currently going through periodic reports on its partner status and competencies.
In response to N1, they noted that this audit is also performed with Microsoft and that it is a regular procedure.
Such allegations come after some local media published a text stating that they learned that Prointer was no longer on Microsoft's list of partners and that everything pointed to a conclusion that this was a consequence of US sanctions against Milorad Dodik, a member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency, that were imposed in January. The reason being, among other things, because of corrupt activities and because Dodik uses his official position in BiH to accumulate personal wealth through bribes and other forms of corruption, the US State Department said.
“Our company has not received a notification from Microsoft, nor from the distribution companies with which we cooperate, referring to the issue of partnership status. In this sense, the company Prointer ITSS continues with regular business activities and projects. At the same time, we reject unfounded and unsubstantiated speculations that have appeared in some media, that personnel restructuring in the group itself has anything to do with this cooperation, especially insinuations that put business relations in a political context,” Prointer told N1.
The connection between Prointer and ATV
According to some media, the reason for the possible termination of cooperation is the connection between that company and the Banja Luka Alternative Television (ATV), which was also sanctioned by the United States when the sanctions were extended to Dodik.
It was then stated in the explanation that the sanctions against ATV were imposed due to their connection with Milorad Dodik.
Shortly after the imposition of sanctions, ATV’s YouTube channel, where they could publish their content, was terminated, and there was talk of deleting their internet domain.
Also, in one of his earlier public appearances, Dodik confirmed that his son Igor is connected to Prointer.
“He is not the owner or an authorized person, but he is an associate of that company, he deals with new technologies, cooperates with foreign companies and has income from that,” said Dodik in 2019.
It is important to point out that Prointer took over the ownership of the ATV last year, however, in mid-January this year there was a new change in ownership, so the ATV passed “into the hands” of the company “Infinity media”, which is now the owner of 80 percent of ATV’s capital.
The change in the ownership structure happened in the same month, some 15 days after the US imposed sanctions on ATV and extended them to Dodik. Djordje Djuric is officially listed as the owner of the Infinity Group, and the director is Bojan Vujic, who previously managed Prointer.
The “Infinity media” is a daughter company of the “Infinity International Group,” which also includes the company Prointer.
Sanctions after sanctions
Also, during the introduction and expansion of sanctions against Dodik, the US Treasury Department stressed that they will continue to sanction other companies, as well as persons associated with Milorad Dodik.
The company Prointer was founded in 2015 and since then it has taken the lead in IT tenders in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially in the Republika Srpska entity. So far, they mostly received and realized million-dollar projects, and among their numerous technology partners is the American company Microsoft.
Prointer’s removal from the Microsoft list of partners would mean that this company lost the license of the US tech giant and that they would not be able to sell Microsoft’s products, more precisely, the programs of this tech giant.
In this regard, N1 also contacted Microsoft to find out whether it is true that Prointer was removed from their list of partners, however, we did not receive a response until the publication of this text.
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