Republika Srpska leader Milorad Dodik, who is on a US watch list because of his nationalist policies, is apparently linked to a company that is winning public contracts in Macedonia, Fokus reports. The company has won 10 contracts worth 1.5 million EUR, to provide It equipment.

Infinity Energy IT Solutions was set up in Macedonia in October 2020, and just months later it won its first public contract to provide IT equipment to the direction for industrial zones worth 130,000 EUR – the contract was won together with another company. Contracts with the Cadastre Office, MARNET, the Interior Ministry and the Government itself followed – all worth over 100,000 EUR and often won in league with other companies.

The contract with the Interior Ministry drew most attention and allegations about it were raised by VMRO-DPMNE Vice President Aleksandar Nikoloski. He warned that a company linked to Dodik providing IT equipment to the Macedonian security services is a major risk.

Infinity Energy IT solutions denied that it is linked to Dodik. It insists that it is majority owned by Infinity International Group (with Milan Milosavljevic as 49 percent partner), and that its ownership structure is transparent. Its manager Dejan Kekenovski told Fokus that they provide high quality services in cooperation with international IT majors, reporting 390,000 EUR in public contracts in 2021 out of total revenue of 825,000 EUR.

But Fokus informs that this company is actually an umbrella firm, with several other smaller outfits under it, including Prointer, a company set up in 2015. Prointer was established in Belgrade and Banja Luka, by Sinisa Mijatovic and Dejan Ilic – top officials of Dodik’s SNDS party, and included Slavisa Kokez, former bodyguard to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. This is the direct link between the company now operating in Macedonia and the Dodik regime. Prointer won contracts worth over 75 million EUR in Republika Srpska, and Dodik acknowledged that his son Igor has links to the company. Bosnian media have reported that IBM and other US giants have ended their cooperation with Prointer, over allegedly rigged public contracts.