CONTENTIOUS MONEY IN HDZ FOUNDATION'S ACCOUNT BLOCKED

ZAGREB, June 6 (Hina) - The Zagreb municipal court on Thursday issued a temporary ban on the use of around a million and half euros deposited in a account of the Croatian Democratic Union's foundation in the Privredna Bank. #L# The decision (on the ban) was taken on Thursday and the bank as well as the concerned parties: the Chief State Prosecutor's Office which proposed the measure and the HDZ party's foundation which opposes it, were immediately notified, the court's president Djuro Sessa told Hina. He explained that the temporary ban could be in effect for 15 days, as the proposal for such action was submitted before a suit was filed. Within this period the State Prosecutor's Office must file a civil suit, the judge said adding that after that the case would be treated as a civil action. The State Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday asked for the blockade of around EUR1.5 million on the account of a Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) foundation until it is established whether the money belonged to the foundation or the state. This refers to funds which the Croatian diaspora raised for the defence of the country during the war. Until 1998 the money was deposited in an account in Austria, but that year the money was transferred, following the order of the then Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, to the account of the said foundation, which is headed by Ivic Pasalic. Pasalic however claims that the foundation's leadership was acquainted with the 'donation' only in December 1999. On Wednesday's news conference Pasalic explained that the foundation's leadership had accepted the donation in June last year and that the money was placed on time deposit in the designated bank. The leadership also decided to use the funds for the restoration of the late Tudjman's house in his hometown of Veliko Trgovisce and undergraduate scholarships, while interest drawn from the time deposit was to be used for the work of the endowment. (hina) ms