The long-standing cooperation and multi-million dollar deals of the Gecic law firm with the Serbian Government as well as numerous other public institutions and enterprises indicate, according to Nova.rs sources, the close connection of this law office with the very top of the state. What is worrisome about this cooperation is that this firm, which represents Telekom Serbia, is also engaged as a representative of the United Group, which, according to the lawyers, whom Nova.rs journalists spoke to, is another indication that the government is trying to unite these companies and put them under the same, its own, umbrella.
The Gecic office represents a large number of ministries and state-owned enterprises, including EPS, Zelezara, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, etc.
Nova.rs also wrote about the latest contract that the Ministry of Mining and Energy concluded with this law firm and another company, when they were awarded a job worth around 290,000 euros.
Numerous important deals, which have made the Gecic law firm soar to the skies and brought it millions in profits, however, arouse suspicion in the public, as well as among fellow lawyers, and in particular the simultaneous representation of two competing companies – Telekom and United Group, for which the new management hired the aforementioned law firm. The lawyers who spoke to Nova.rs and who wished to remain anonymous due to their acquaintance with lawyer Bogdan Gecic, believe that the government is behind the whole story, and it aims to unite these companies under its umbrella.
Lawyers agree that the cooperation between the government and the Gecic office is suspicious primarily because of the number of jobs they win, but also their value.
“At the very least, it is suspicious that the Gecic office is getting so many jobs from the state. However, the state authorities are obliged to conduct public procurement, to place advertisements and for more offices to apply, to submit their applications, and then to see how it happens that only they get jobs from the state institutions. We should pay more attention to those who hire them for our money, because they are public institutions. Apart from this, there are two or three other offices that regularly get state jobs. If there is a basis for suspicion of a connection between the state leadership and the Gecic office, the responsibility lies with those who hired them, as well as those who are hired. It is certainly suspicious and subject to checks,” lawyer Aleksandar Olenik told Nova.rs.
The state pushed for profit
As Nova.rs learned from some lawyers familiar with the work of this office, who asked to remain anonymous, Gecic started his own business after leaving a large corporate office, and the growth of his business was not, they claim, organic, but only through the state, which is clearly visible from the results he achieved. More precisely, in just a few years he earned a million dollar worth of profit. Public procurements, these lawyers claim, are advertised under the radar and last for a minimum period according to legal provisions.
“In addition to this, there are two to three more corporate offices that are awarded jobs by the government. They can also represent companies in the Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) without any additional restrictions, only with a formal permit that is obtained only two days from the date of submission. Until recently, they could also work in Montenegro, but since this country entered the formal flow, that has ended. Only the Republika Srpska remains for brokerage,” the lawyers state.
Only one company in the Public Procurement procedure
Regarding the latest jobs of the Gecic office with the state, which was awarded to them by the Ministry of Energy, Nemanja Nenadic of Transparency Serbia told Nova.rs that there is no justification for conducting the procurement.
“When it comes to the procurement of the Ministry of Energy and Mining, ‘Analysis of the impact of the EU CBAM regulation on the electricity production sector in the Republic of Serbia’, which was awarded to the consortium of KPMG and the law firm Gecic, the qualification of the consultants is not in dispute, but the justification for the implementation is. Many things would certainly be clearer if the procurement analysis within this work, which the Ministry commissioned, had been published, but it was not,” said Nenadic.
When it comes to the procurement process itself, the fact remains that apart from the winning consortium, no one else has applied, nor is it apparent that any other company has shown interest, he pointed out.
“The conditions set before potential bidders are not at first glance controversial. However, it is possible that the restriction of competition was influenced by the fact that certain employee certificates were requested, as well as the fact that the bidder was required to participate in at least two projects related to advisory services related to impact analysis and assistance to clients in complying with the EU CBAM regulation for companies with over 2,000 employees,” explained Nenadic.
The Ministry of Energy and Mining, as the contracting authority, was obliged to ensure as much competition as possible.
“They should announce what their market research showed regarding this procurement, which companies they know have provided advisory services on the implementation of CBAM in EU countries and other candidate countries, and whether, in addition to publishing the tender on the Public Procurement Portal, they have taken the step further to directly inform all those companies that they need these services,” he added.
The Gecic law firm, in a consortium with another firm, was awarded a job worth around 290,000 euros by the Ministry of Mining and Energy, and was previously hired by the Government of Serbia, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, EPS, Arena Channels, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, etc.
Telecom and UG
As the Nova.rs portal previously reported, Suzana Vasiljevic, media advisor to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, attended the birthday celebration of the law firm Gecic, which represents the new management of the United Group in Serbia, and has previously been a permanent partner of Telekom Srbija, towards the end of the year. Vasiljevic published her photos from this event on her private Instagram profile.
Lawyers of the Gecic office, which is affiliated with Telekom Srbija, are an indispensable part of all the moves of the new management of the United Group in Serbia. Back in September of this year, the new director of the United Group in Serbia, Vladica Tintor, unexpectedly arrived at his new workplace at the group’s headquarters in New Belgrade. He was accompanied by lawyers from the aforementioned office.
Before that, in August, amidst the scandal that broke out after the published conversation between Vladimir Lucic and Stan Miller, who discussed the changes at United Media and the breakup of the companies that are part of it, lawyer Bogdan Gecic threatened to fire N1 journalist Ana Novakovic.
Source: N1
