Due to a series of corruption scandals, Croatian politicians in recent years can often be found in the "black chronicle" sections of the media. Investigative and judicial authorities have their hands full, and as things stand now, it seems that there are no protected persons. Officials of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) are at the forefront of shady dealings, but some of the Croatian Social Democrats (SDP) also slip through. The well-known phrase of Serbian politicians "just let the institutions do their job", the judicial authorities in Croatia put it into practice
This week, the former prefect of the Sisak-Maslovak County, Marina Lovrić Merzel, was sentenced to death for accepting bribes. According to a well-known scheme in Serbia, she abused her position and sold a state-owned enterprise to a privileged entrepreneur. For that, she received a compensation of one hundred thousand euros, and "laundered" the money by buying an apartment in the name of a relative.
When the verdict becomes final, Lovrić Merzel will spend seven years in Remetinac prison for accepting bribes, and the property she acquired illegally will be returned to the budget of the citizens of Croatia.
The case of Sanader
Photo: AP Photo/Darko BandicWhen really no one is protected: The reading of the indictment to Ivo Sanader / Photo: AP Photo/Darko Bandić
The case of the former prime minister and president of the HDZ received a court epilogue in October last year Ivo Sanader. He was sentenced to six years in prison for the bribe he received from the former head of the Hungarian branch of the oil company MOL. As prime minister, Sanader received five million euros to sign a contract that gave MOL a majority stake in the Croatian oil company INA. Sanader had to return the profit obtained by bribery to the state budget.
MOL is not the only affair in which Sanader was involved, court proceedings are ongoing in several other cases, and it is possible that the single prison sentence for all of Sanader's embezzlements will be even higher. The arrest of Sanader was the card that Croatia played for joining the EU. Although he was not the only one, "the car broke down" on Sanader, and after eight years of membership in the EU, the rule of law is producing its results.
Master of survival Plenković
ANDREJ PLENKOVIĆReconstruction after reconstruction of the Government: Andrej Plenković / Photo: Photo Tanjug/Photo Hina/Edvard Šušak
During the two mandates of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, examples of ministers who were not involved in an affair are rare. Old and current ministers are also arrested. And Plenković skillfully survives politically for years and overcomes crises with reconstructions and changes in his team. Regardless, the well-known platitude among Serbian ruling politicians, "just let the institutions do their job", colleagues from HDZ feel good on their skin.
Darko Horvath; Source: Croatian Economy MinistryMinister of Construction Darko Horvat / Photo: Croatian Economy Ministry
Early in the morning in the middle of February, the current Minister of Construction, Darko Horvat, was also arrested, after the police searched his house on the order of USKOK. He is accused of embezzlement during the allocation of European and state funds to encourage businessmen while he was the head of the Ministry of Economy.
Bojan Ivosevic photo_N1Split Mayor Bojan Ivošević / Photo: N1
The pressure of the institutions on the politicians cornered the local authorities in Split as well. The mayor of Split and his deputy resigned, and the citizens of Split will go to new elections. The last straw was the indictment against the deputy mayor Bojan Ivošević for threats to Slobodna Dalmacija journalists. Dissatisfied with writing this paper, Ivošević called the editor of the city column and threatened "that he will drink her blood."
Fatal Laura Koveši
One of the cases that shook the Croatian public and the region was the arrest of the former minister of regional development and EU funds, Gabriela Žalac. The woman from Vinkovci was arrested in a joint operation by the Croatian Office for the Fight against Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK) and the European Public Prosecutor's Office in Croatia.
It was an open secret that Žalac embezzled EU funds, or that she hit a ten-year-old girl with a car while driving an expensive, unregistered Mercedes with an expired driver's license. The reason for the arrest of Žalac, however, was her participation in the "Software" affair, the dubious public procurement of a software system in which the European prosecutor's office was also interested.
The Office of the European Public Prosecutor headed by Romanian Laura Koveši helped launch the investigation against Minister Žalac. Koveši, now a synonym in the EU for a determined fight against corruption, is responsible for the arrest of top officials and politicians from EU member states, and the last in the series was the arrest of former Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.
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Pursuant to the Agreement signed by Partyarch Porfirije and Đuro Matsut on Vidovdan this year, the Government approved 763.100.000 dinars to the SPC. 234.800.000 dinars were immediately paid to the church, and the rest should be paid by the end of November 2026. The document obtained by "Vreme" shows that this money - that is, about 6,5 million euros - is intended for the construction of a new music hall measuring 2315,33 square meters. It is not clear which mosaic it is because the interior decoration was completed in 2020. The public was alarmed by two facts: public money was paid into one of the accounts that SPC has in "Alta Bank", and the second is the suspicion that the money in cash was taken out of Serbia and handed over to certain partners in Moscow. Dejan Nakić is mentioned as the whistleblower, and according to numerous sources of "Vremena" from the Serbian Orthodox Church, he has been mentioned before for various controversies related to the business of the Church.
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