AUDIT OFFICE RECEIVES 161 AUDIT REQUESTS

ZAGREB, June 28 (Hina) - The State Audit Office has received 161 requests for the audit of the privatisation process in companies which are suspected of having undergone illegal privatisation procedures, it was said at a seminar, entitled "Transformation and Privatisation Audit", which is being held at the State Audit Office on Thursday and Friday. Information about applicants and companies which will be audited will not be available to the public but the Audit Office will submit to the parliament reports on the course of the audit every six months, after which these reports will be made public, it was said. The law on the audit of transformation and privatisation went into force on May 24 and the deadline for the submission of audit applications is 60 days from the law's going into force. Audit requests can be submitted by current or former shareholders in the companies which are being audited, associations of small shareholders, unions, steering and supervisory boards, pension and health insurance funds, the State Attorney's Office and the State Prosecutor's Office, the government, the Croatian National Bank, the Commission for Bonds, the State Agency for the Financial Consolidation of Banks as well as by the owners of nationalised property which was transformed and privatised, and units of local and regional self-government. All auditing activities must be completed by December 31, 2003 at the latest. (hina) sb rml