ZAGREB, May 7 (Hina) - The Office for the Prevention of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOS) has reported that the police on Friday arrested two men suspected of white-collar crime in the 'Koncar-trgovina i zastupstva' company.
According unofficial reports the suspects are Mate Granic, a former Croatian foreign minister, and Darinko Bago, the current CEO of the Koncar Group.
ZAGREB, May 7 (Hina) - The Office for the Prevention of Corruption and
Organised Crime (USKOS) has reported that the police on Friday
arrested two men suspected of white-collar crime in the
'Koncar-trgovina i zastupstva' company. According unofficial reports
the suspects are Mate Granic, a former Croatian foreign minister, and
Darinko Bago, the current CEO of the Koncar Group.#L#
Confirmation that the arrested men were Granic, a former president of
the Democratic Centre (DC), and Bago came form the DC party and the
Interior Ministry, before USKOK issued a statement on the apprehension
in which it did not reveal the identity of the apprehended people.
USKOK said that one of them was arrested on suspicion that during a
sale of shares he asked for and took a bribe from a share-holder in
the said company. The other suspect, a 57-year-old doctor, is believed
to have helped the first suspect take the bribe.
According to unofficial reports from the Interior Ministry, Bago and
Granic are being interrogated by the police.
The DC has received unofficial information that the arrested men are
Granic and Bago, DC Vice President Josko Moric told Hina, adding that
the party was flabbergasted by this fact. He added that since Vesna
Skare Ozbolt succeeded him as party president, Granic had neither come
to the party offices nor contacted anybody from the DC. Moric
declined to make any further comments while the investigation is under
way.
"I am shocked and outraged at this information. However, the rule of
law must function and be applied regardless of who is in question,
whether it be the head of state, foreign minister or an ordinary
citizen," Justice Minister and DC leader Skare Ozbolt said later in
the day when asked by reporters in the city of Pozega to comment on
the arrest of Granic.
"I do not intend to make any assessments until the investigation is
over," she added.
The public relations office in the Koncar company said it had no
comment for the time being.
USKOK announced that the two suspects would later in the day be
interviewed by an investigating judge. It said that charges were
pressed against them for receiving bribe and facilitating bribery.
(Hina) ms