Controversial businessman from Niksic Miodrag Daka Davidovic mediated in the business arrangement worth €217,000 concluded between Democratic Front (DF) and Belgrade-based company New Focus Communication. According to the arrangement, the company was engaged in advertising in Vijesti media group during the campaign for parliamentary elections, Pobjeda learns.
The Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT) is examining the legality of that contract, which was signed on 28 December last year.
Pobjeda’s source close to DF said that in the middle of last year Davidovic offered to be a mediator in the business of connecting the Belgrade-based company with the media group, due to the bad relations between Vijesti owners and DF leadership. Davidovic connected DF with the company which paid for election advertising in the Vijesti media group, the source told Pobjeda. The contract was signed by Andrija Mandic on behalf of DF and Igor Avzner on behalf of New Focus Communications.
As Pobjeda earlier reported, Avzner is close to the former Serbian minister Mladjan Dinkic. Dinkic is also a member of the Board of Directors of Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank in Europe.
The company’s services are one of the identified irregularities for which the Corruption Prevention Agency issued a decision on temporary suspension of €350,000 budget funds to DF in late November last year, until the case launched before the court is ended.
At the same time, SDT and its prosecutor Veljko Rutovic have initiated the inquiry, within which it received the copy of the contract from DF.
The Pobjeda’s source said that Vijesti engaged bailiffs to collect debt from DF for the services provided during the election campaign. Depending on the source of information, the debt is ranging from €166.000 to €186.000.
“Front is not able to immediately pay all the debts, because their account has been frozen due to the decision of the Corruption Prevention Agency. Vijesti media group has had no understanding for such a set of circumstances,” the DF source said.
