Bajic was speaking to the press on Thursday, commenting on media allegations that Zagorec, suspected of embezzling state funds, is in possession of a document allegedly proving that Prime Minister Ivo Sanader had deposited 19 gold ingots in the Virgin Islands, and that Bajic asked 1.5 million euros from Zagorec to drop the charges against him. The information about where and how he would collect the money was allegedly to have been given via coded sentences and messages in Croatian Television's prime time news.
Bajic said that as soon as he heard of the publication of the document and that he and his deputy Lazo Pajic were accused of asking for bribes, he "requested our Austrian colleagues to investigate the matter and notify us".
According to the media, the alleged document, which state leaders claim is a forgery and an imputation on Zagorec's part, was the subject of a secret meeting in Vienna in late May between Zagorec, who resides in Austria, and Croatian President Stjepan Mesic's advisor Sasa Perkovic.
Bajic said the Austrian authorities were requested to check if their secret services had taped that meeting or if this was just speculation.
He did not answer if the State Prosecutor's Office (DORH) had given Perkovic a written or verbal consent to meet Zagorec. "I said what I had to. A word to the wise is sufficient," he said, adding that this was not the first time that he was being accused of illegal activities.
He recalled that the DORH board of directors decides about his accountability.
Bajic reiterated that the DORH was informed in March that Zagorec wanted to contact Mesic's office and was offering documents about money flows for arms procurement. "That offer just confirmed our previous information that he was in possession of documents from (the early 1990s)," he said, speaking of the time when Zagorec was assistant defence minister in charge of arms procurement.
Last night, Mesic and Sanader said in a joint statement they would not give up on the determined fight against bribery, corruption and all forms of organised crime, despite various forms of media and intelligence manipulation by groups from the intelligence underworld and criminal circles in an attempt to discredit state leaders and heads of state institutions because of their fear of justice and the functioning of the rule of law.