Vanjka Špiljak owns the company from Prnjavor, which has been said to be connected with Milorad Dodik’s men. The Director of Špiljak’s company is a close associate of Anđelko Grahovac, BiH Ambassador to Switzerland and witness of defense of Radovan Karadžić before ICTY. In 2014, Nobilo had a meeting in Banjaluka with Branko Traživuk concerning a change of statement against Perković, as reported by the German investigators.
The supporters of “Justice for David” public protests were unpleasantly surprised when Davor Dragičević, father of the deceased young man from Banjaluka, made a public statement against Ante Nobilo, who until recently was a member of his team of lawyers, accusing him of cooperation with the authorities which Davor considered responsible for killing his son. They were even more surprised, and shocked indeed, by Nobilo’s response, who accused the unfortunate father that he was manipulated by the British secret service in its attempt to force Milorad Dodik out of office.
To us, who have followed for decades Nobilo’s cooperation with various authorities and secret services, such appalling Nobilo’s Banjaluka episode was just another evidence confirming his links with the regime of Milorad Dodik, which lead all the way to Switzerland and Vanjka Špiljak in the process against Krunoslav Prates for participation in the murder of Stjepan Đureković, labelled as criminal who stole millions from INA Company.
While recently presenting his book on the trial to Josip Perković for organizing the murder of Đureković, Nobilo also mentioned the trial to Prates, in which Mika Špiljak was referred to as someone who ordered a murder of Đureković in order to cover up the criminal deeds of his son Vanja in INA. Express weekly, though, published excerpts from Nobilo’s book, including an episode from 2014, when, allegedly, the policemen of Republika Srpska ambushed the lawyer concerned several times because they thought that Perković was with him. Although Nobilo claimed in his book that he was in Banjaluka on a business trip unrelated to the case of Perković, the German investigators followed him anyway as he had a meeting with Branko Traživuk, an employer of Vanja Špiljak’s Bosnian company for many years, and a witness at the trial to Perković. The German investigators suspected that Nobilo would persuade Traživuk to change his statements given to “Duga” magazine in 1992 on his travel to Luxembourg in Perković’ company, and on their associate Krunoslav Prates who, on that occasion, handed over to Perković the keys of the garage in which Đureković would be killed subsequently. Therefore, they documented a meeting between Nobilo and Traživuk in Banjaluka. Tražuvuk changed his statement in his testimony before the court. Namely, he claimed that Milomir Marić, author of the article concerned published by “Duga” magazine invented his statement, although he wanted himself to revenge to Perković, too because “the Croatian soldiers massacred his father”. Zdravka Soldić Arar, journalist of “Slobodna Dalmacija” daily discovered that Traživuk was lying on the alleged massacre his father was a victim of, whereas judge Dauster established that Traživuk was lying since his statement published by “Duga” was compatible with what he said as a S-3 KOS group “Labrador” agent in 1991 in a report to his superiors in the counter-intelligence service of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA).
Ljuban Karan, Counter-Intelligence Service officer of the former SFRY (KOS) disclosed in his book in 2006 that Branko Traživuk was employed in the company of Vanjka Špiljak in Republika Srpska, whereas Bože Vukušić, expert researcher on UDBA (i.e. State Security Service of the former SFRY), in his series of articles on KOS published in the Croatian daily in 2014, stated that the company concerned was “Standard” from Prnjavor, owned by Špiljak’s Swiss company Daccomet.
Edin Dacić, Swiss entrepreneur originating from Serbia, who claims that he is “the founder of Daccomet, largest individual stakeholder, director, and President of the Management Board”.
I asked him the following in early October:
Could you please describe the ownership and business links between your company Daccomet and Mitan Holding? At Mitan Holding’s web page it is published that Daccomet was an integral part of that holding. Who is the majority owner of Daccomet: you or Vanjka and Vanja Špiljak?
Dacić did not answer my question, so that I believe it is correct what Bože Vukušić stated, and Vanja Moos Špiljak, daughter of Mika Špiljak and President of Mitan Holding Management Board confirmed. Namely, the latter referred me to the web page of Mitan Holding, which clearly states that Daccomet with its furniture factories in Prnjavor and Ćuprija (i.e. the birthplace of Dacić’ mother) was an integral part of Mitan Oil (Smederevo) and Mitan Marine (Novi Vinodolski).
Moreover, Edin Dacić answered the following to my question if Branko Traživuk was working at Standard Company from Prnjavor:
The name of Branko Traživuk is unknown to me. In any case, he has not worked at Standard Company from Prnjavor.
However, the second important name from KOS “Labrador” Group, with whom Josip Perković, Slavko Malobabić, ex-Head of Cabinet of Mika Špiljak, Head of the Central Committee of the Alliance of Communists of Croatia, and Stanko Stojčević, was not omitted in the answer provided by Dacić. He answered that Slavko Malobabić was President of the Assembly of Stakeholders of the Standard Company from Prnjavor. However, he did not say that he was aware of the family relations between Slavko and Veliša Malobabić. The latter used to be Head of Human Resources Department at Standard Company from Prnjavor for a while. Veliša is Slavko’s son. Andreas Ernst, journalist of a reputable Neue Zurcher Zeitung talked to him and published a long report praising the Swiss investment in BiH. Ernst praised Dacić as a young Swiss entrepreneur of Yugoslav origin who was investing in Prnjavor courageously. However, he did not mention that this was, in fact, a company owned by Vanjka Špiljak, who registered his Mitan Handels in 1999 at the Zurich Trade Court with an investment deposit of one million Swiss Francs. Clearly, it would be very embarrassing for the most reputable Swiss daily to mention that they were, actually, reporting on the investment of the former INA director, who was portrayed as criminal by the German Court, and, in addition to that, if it were made public that the Swiss state borrowed 500,000 Francs to his company for that job in Prnjavor. This would have been embarrassing for the state of Switzerland indeed. Edin Dacić confirmed the information on the loan granted by the Swiss state:
Within the SECO Start-up Fund, Switzerland granted a loan amounting to CHF 500,000 to Daccomet AG for the Standard Prnjavor project. This loan was fully returned in 2011. No Daccomet project has been granted any non-refundable funding by Switzerland.
Draško Stanivuković, a young supporter of “Justice for David” Group organized last year a protest in front of the city assembly over a claim that the president of the assembly was corrupt as he employed Veliša Malobabić to the position of head of his cabinet:
-The citizens were notified on huge investments, new employment, it was stated that the Swiss investor arrived in our city. However, out of that massive employment, the investor invested in the city administration instead. Malobabić, a man who until a month before was a member of the “Standard” company team, works in the city administration now. What amount of salary does he receive there? Further, the relatives of Veliša Malobabić are shareholders in the Pranjavor Company. If the city grants any funding to that company, would that be a conflict of interest, an instance of nepotism – Stanivuković asked in public.
Edin Dacić, Director of Špiljak’s company is often seen with Anđelko Grahovac, BiH Ambassador to Switzerland in Bern. Grahovac, once member of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), member of the Banjaluka Crisis Headquarters, witness of defense of Radovan Karadžić, waited longer than usual for the Swiss authorities to issue letters of credence confirming his appointment. Around one thousand citizens of BiH who live in Switzerland addressed the Swiss Government in writing twice, asking for the letters of credence not to be granted to Grahovac due to his responsibility for the war cleansing of Banjaluka from non-Serbs. According to my sources in Bern, it was indeed the Director of Špiljak’s company who intervened that the Swiss authorities confirm the appointment of Grahovac for BiH Ambassador.
While accusing the German Intelligence Service (BND) that they convicted Perković exactly because during the war he obstructed the BND plans to put Croatia under the BND intelligence control, Anto Nobilo confirmed in the process some key information on the logistics support provided to former UDBA (i.e. the former Yugoslav State Security Agency) agents through Banjaluka. Therefore, the German diplomacy has already made some steps towards the Swiss authorities in that regard.
