Rothaichner said in a note he would not come to Croatia because he did not feel safe there but that he was ready to be interviewed outside Croatia.
The Zagreb County Prosecutor's Office claims that in the early 1990s Rothaichner gave Zagorec two bags with jewels as collateral for US$ 5 million which the Croatian Defence Ministry provided for the purchase of S-300 missiles. Zagorec, who was at the time the assistant minister in charge of arms procurement, allegedly took the jewels with him when he left office in 2000.
The German arms dealer was to have been questioned on June 29, but failed to show up. In Vienna two days later, he testified in proceedings on Croatia's request for Zagorec's extradition, allegedly saying that he had never given Zagorec the jewels. The next hearing has been scheduled for July 25.
All Croatian witnesses in the investigation against Zagorec were interviewed by mid-April. Investigating judge Erna Drazancic has still not decided if she will try to interview Rothaichner via videolink or if she will wrap up the investigation without him, said Zagreb County Court spokesman Kresimir Devcic.