Back in 2015, government issued a press statement stating: “From our perspective Vlatacom and its managing director, Vladimir Cizelj, have consistently shown themselves to be both highly professional and above board in their dealings with this government.”
This week, the DCEC issued an arrest warrant against Cizelj in connection to a bribery case against Kgosi.
Background of Cizeij’s involvement with Kgosi is that his company Vlatacom did business with the Office of the President and DIS around 2008. At the time, Cizeij was still reeling from another bribery scandal which had just played itself out in Serbia. Cizeij was accused of bribing one former Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS), and Vladimir Zagradjanin of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). The case was internally dubbed the “briefcase affair.”
Although the accused in the case was set free by the Serbian court, there was hue and cry in Serbia about a miscarriage of justice which was believed to have contributed to the fall of the Serbian government. According to media reports, Cizeij was understood to have been delivering the briefcase for former Director of the Kreditno-Eksportna Bank (KEB) Sekula Pjevcevic, who was later indicted as one of the leaders of a criminal group known as the “bankruptcy mafia,” whose members were indicted for financial fraud worth millions of euros.
Closer to home, there have been accusations levelled against the Serbian all which he has denied. Most prominently Cizeij through his company has been accused of allegedly being awarded direct tenders by Kgosi between the years.
Perhaps the most controversial Vlatacom was awarded a closed contract to supply government and the DIS with high end communication and electronic ID systems, a tender which now forms part of the basis of Kgosi’s corruption charge that ensued this week at the High Court.
Cizeij, who the DCEC don’t know where he stays, could not be reached for comment. Mmegi attempted to reach him through the details provided on his website.
