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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Telekom Srbija to administrate Mobtel network

Belgrade, 29 December 2005

Serbian Minister of Economy Predrag Bubalo said today that the Serbian government passed a decision on revoking Mobtel’s operating licence following the regulation envisaged in Article 706 of the Law on obligations, according to which "the licensor can declare the contract on issuing a licence null and void without a notice period, if a sub-licence has been given without the licensor's approval."

Predrag Bubalo

Speaking at a press conference following a session of the Serbian government, Bubalo said that the mobile telephone operator Mobtel, as an owner of the licence, could transfer the rights on using the licence to a third party, partly or in full, only with the written approval of the government, in the form of a licensor.

Mobtel disregarded such a decision and in late 2003 transferred the users licence for the territory of Kosovo-Metohija to the mobile telephone company Mobikos, owned by Ekrem Luka. The contract on issuing a sub-licence was signed by Patric Harpur, who was at that time a legal counsel of Mobtel, said Bubalo.

Dragan Jocic

Serbian Minister of Interior Dragan Jocic explained that the Ministry of Interior came into possession of the documentation proving the unauthorised usage of state resources by means of international legal help and added that the damage done to the state is two-fold, quoting both its financial and security aspect.

It is evident that the contract signed with Mobikos involves the usage of state resources without the state's knowledge or approval, said Jocic. He pointed out that in this moment the state has control over communications, and that its right is protected from any unauthorised interruptions.

According to Jocic, in the next few days the ministry will work on collecting all the relevant facts concerning this case.

Serbian Minister of Justice Zoran Stojkovic said that the government decided at its session today to send directives to all resource ministries asking them to conduct a thorough investigation of the contract, note all possible consequences and take measures to prevent them.

Velimir Ilic

Serbian Minister of Capital Investment Velimir Ilic promised to all users of Mobtel's mobile phone network that there will be no dysfunctions since the government has appointed Telekom as Mobtel's administrator. Telekom will maintain the entire network for the time being and banks will establish separate accounts for users of both networks, so as to enable a normal functioning of the entire system.

Furthermore, he added, everyone working in Mobtel will remain in their positions, keep performing their duties and receive the usual salaries.

The Serbian government called a tender for a financial privatisation advisor in the telecommunications sector, said Ilic and stressed that the current monopoly caused by the fact that the state controls both of Serbia's mobile operators, will be short lived.