ZAGREB, June 5 (Hina) - The Office for the Fight Against Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) together with police is to launch an investigation to establish whether there was any wrong-doing in the use of funds which the Croatian
Diaspora ensured and deposited in foreign accounts for the defence of Croatia in the 1990s, read an article published in Wednesday's issue of "Jutarnji List" daily.
ZAGREB, June 5 (Hina) - The Office for the Fight Against Corruption
and Organised Crime (USKOK) together with police is to launch an
investigation to establish whether there was any wrong-doing in the
use of funds which the Croatian Diaspora ensured and deposited in
foreign accounts for the defence of Croatia in the 1990s, read an
article published in Wednesday's issue of "Jutarnji List" daily.
#L#
The case refers to some three million German marks deposited in an
account in Villach, Austria, until 1998, when the then high
official Hrvoje Sarinic transferred them to the account of the then
ruling party Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)'s foundation called
the endowment of the Croatian state vow. Sarinic recently said in an
interview to "Novi List" daily that he had transferred the money to
the foundation's account in Privredna Banka following the order of
former Croatian President Franjo Tudjman.
In compliance with the act on distress and seizure, the State
Prosecutor's Office has proposed a temporary ban on the management
of that money until its status is solved in the court procedure and
after it is established whether the money belongs to the state,
Chief State Prosecutor Mladen Bajic was quoted by Jutarnji List.
According to Bajic, apart from the probe in this transaction,
investigations will be carried out in the movement of money, which
was collected by the fund for the economic reconstruction and
sovereignty of Croatia for the country's defence and deposited on
other accounts in foreign banks.
The USKOK has asked, via an investigation centre of the Zagreb
County Court, for an international assistance in checking
transactions in accounts in Austria, Switzerland and some other
countries.
Besides the USKOK and police, the office for the money laundering
prevention will be engaged in the case, Bajic said.
"Jutarnji List" says that after he took office, the incumbent
Croatian President Stjepan Mesic produced all the documentation on
the money transaction he found in the President's office to the
police.
The police processed the case in the early 2001 and the results of
their investigation were handed over to the State Prosecutor's
office, but so far nothing concrete has been done, Jutarnji List
said.
(hina) ms