I propose to the government to determine what was the aim of voucher privatisation, and whether the goal was to enable individuals to change funds into their own holdings and thus become owners of what they did not create, or if the aim was to provide assistance from the funds' profits to war casualties, Mesic said in Opatija where he attended a meeting of city officials of the Croatian seaside resort and of the Czech spa of Karlovy Vary.
He added that the intention of legislation regarding voucher privatisation was to help victims from the 1990s war.
Opatija also houses the main offices of the LRH hotel company.
Under a 23 March verdict of the Croatian Chamber of the Economy (HGK) arbitration court, shares of the Liburnia Riviera Hotels can be used to cover the claims of two holding funds towards the government, incurred during the voucher privatisation. This means that the majority package of shares in the Opatija-based hotel chain belongs to the two holding funds - Dom and SN.
The HGK arbitration court thus decided that an agreement between the Croatian Privatisation Fund (HFP) and the two holding funds was valid. The HFP has been thus ordered to transfer 1,570 shares of the hotel company to the SN holding fund, as a difference between 255,980 shares determined by the agreement on the transfer of shares and 254,410 shares that have been already transferred.
The government has said it will use all legal means to prove that the 2005 agreement between the HFP and the two holding funds was invalid.
In the summer of 2005, the HFP concluded an agreement with the two holding funds on the transfer of 255,980 shares from the LRH hotel company (which was then over 80 percent of the company's stock). In return, the two holding funds undertook to pay back 162 million kuna that had previously been taken in accordance with a court order from the HFP account. The purpose of the deal was to settle the state's debts towards the two holding funds incurred during the voucher privatisation. However, the government then withdrew its consent in principle regarding the agreement, namely it did not officially approve the deal within a 20 day term envisaged for such a procedure.
After that, the two holding funds initiated procedures before the HGK arbitration court and the Administrative Court. The latter has not yet made a decision on the matter.