Government sends auditor to NIS - Russians' report pointed to losses

Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković said on Thursday (May 28, 2009) that the state, as a minority partner in "Petroleum Industry of Serbia" (NIS), would hire an audit company to check the report on the operations of NIS whose majority owners are Russians.

- Opposite to the expectations, the report made by the audit company hired by the majority owner showed that NIS ended year 2008 with losses. Minority stockholder, the state of Serbia, has the possibility to dispute that report, and that is why we will hire some other audit company of the same rank as the audit company hired by the majority owner of NIS, which is one of the world's four largest audit companies - said Cvetković.

Cvetković said that the Government of Serbia expected to select independent auditor soon in order to learn his opinion about the final balance of NIS within the next few months.

- If the new auditor confirms the findings of the previous audit company, that means that it is indisputable that the company registered losses. If not, we will have to talk with the majority partner about that - said Cvetković.

Maraš said that one final balance had been submitted the first, and that it had been then returned for further processing, at the request of the majority owner, and he asked who was responsible for the fact that NIS, according to the second balance, had registered losses in 2008.

According to the words of the Minister of Energy, Petar Škundrić, there is enough time for another audit of the final balance of NIS prior to September. Škundrić said that the arrangement with Russia had proved to be very good in the conditions of the economic crisis, that the Government of Serbia had realized it on the basis of previously signed interstate contract ratified by the Parliament of Serbia, which included construction of gas pipeline Južni tok.