July 2003 - After a public tender which shortlisted Hungary's MOL, Austria's OMV and Russia's Rosneft, which has scrapped its final bid, the Croatian government sells 25 per cent plus one share in the oil and gas company INA to MOL for US$ 505 million. A contract on the sale of INA shares and a shareholders' agreement, under which INA's management and supervisory boards comprise seven members, five appointed by Croatia and two by MOL, are signed by Croatian Economy Minister Ljubo Jurcic and MOL CEO Zsolt Hernadi.
October 2008 - In a public bid MOL buys a 22.15 per cent interest in INA at HRK 2,800 per share, raising its stake from 25 per cent plus one share to 47.15 per cent, becoming the largest shareholder. The Croatian government's stake is 44.83 per cent.
January 2009 - The shareholders' agreement is amended, increasing the number of INA supervisory board members from seven to nine, with MOL having five, the Croatian government three and the workers one. The supervisory board chair is appointed by the government. The management board has six members, three from the government and three from INA, with the chair nominated by MOL. The government and MOL also sign a Gas Master Agreement working out the sale of INA's gas storage location in Okoli to the government as well as the divestiture of the gas business into a separate company and its subsequent sale to the government.
December 2009 - The government and MOL sign the first amendment to the Gas Master Agreement which delays the government's obligation to buy the gas company until 1 December 2010.
May 2010 - At the request of opposition Social Democratic Party, parliament sets up a commission of inquiry into INA's privatisation to establish the facts surrounding the 2009 amendment of the INA-MOL agreement. Parliament deems the amendment and the Gas Master Agreement insufficiently transparent and questionable in terms of national interests.
October 2010 - The commission of inquiry completes its job inconclusively as the ruling party and the opposition cannot agree on any item. The government declassifies the January 2009 Gas Master Agreement and its December 2009 amendment.
December 2010 - MOL makes a public bid to purchase INA stock from small shareholders at HRK 2,800 per share, the price at which it bought INA stock in the 2008 public bid. MOL eventually buys another 0.10 per cent stake in INA, raising its interest to 47.26 per cent.
March 2011 - Croatia's financial regulator HANFA suspends trading in INA shares at the Zagreb Stock Exchange after noticing considerable trading among foreign investors. For the purpose of transparent trading and to protect investors, HANFA contacts foreign regulators, seeking relevant data necessary to establish facts important to supervision. HANFA files a criminal report with the Chief State Prosecutor's Office (DORH) suspecting that some stock was bought with laundered money. DORH launches an investigation into suspicious purchases of INA stock by investors in Slovakia, Hungary and Cyprus.
May 2011 - MOL says that 1.6 per cent of INA stock is the subject of an option agreement concluded by MOL, that it bought 0.21 per cent of INA shares outside the stock exchange market or on the Zagreb Stock Exchange, and that it holds a 47.47 per cent stake in INA. HANFA says it has pressed charges with DORH against MOL and others on suspicion of market manipulation and business fraud.
June 2011 - USKOK (Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime) confirms the launch of an investigation into former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on suspicion of abuse of office and taking a bribe of 10 million euros from MOL board chairman Zsolt Hernadi in return for allowing the Hungarian company to have a dominant position in INA. MOL refutes the allegations. DORH requests the questioning of Hernadi on those allegations. The Hungarian prosecutorial authorities turn down the request, citing the protection of Hungarian national interests and confidentiality of data pertaining to Hungary's security. The cabinet of Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor greenlights the opening of negotiations with MOL on a new modification of the shareholders' agreement in INA and appoints Croatia's negotiating team.
July 2011 - Hungary's government will not accede to any changes of the existing agreement between MOL and INA, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says.
December 2011 - A warrant for Sanader's arrest is issued on suspicion of abuse of office and involvement in financial wrongdoings in five cases, including bribe-taking from MOL. USKOK again requests to question Hernadi.
January 2012 - Hungary's prosecutorial authorities drop an investigation into alleged bribery in the case of MOL's acquisition of INA shares. Chief Prosecutor Imre Keresztes says no clue hinting at any criminal activity has been found during the investigation. According to Keresztes's explanation, DORH accused two companies registered in Cyprus of bribing Croatia's then Prime Minister Sanader with EUR 10 million in order to facilitate MOL's takeover of INA. Hungary's investigators launch a probe on 14 July 2011 and find that the two Cypriot companies that allegedly transferred the bribe are not in MOL's sphere of interest but belong to a large Russian investor.
December 2012 - Sanader sentenced to 10 years for war profiteering in the Hypo case and for bribe taking in the INA-MOL case. The ruling delivered by the Zagreb County Court is subject to appeals.
September 2013 - The Croatian government's negotiating team and MOL hold the first round of negotiations on their contractual relations in INA. The government's negotiating team consists of Economy Minister Ivan Vrdoljak and the head of the State Property Management Office, Mladen Pejnovic. MOL's negotiators are MOL's Deputy Chairman of the Board Sandor Csanyi and INA's CEO Zoltan Aldott. The first round of the negotiations defines the further course of the talks.
October 2013 - An Interpol Red Notice and a European Arrest Warrant are issued for Hernadi. The Hungarian government asks MOL to review the company's portfolio and announces the possibility of selling the stock in INA. It also says the INA-MOL case is no longer just a matter of business disagreements between the owners but about "dubious practices that fall outside the framework of the rule of law". MOL says that by issuing the two arrest warrants for Hernadi, the Croatian authorities are breaching EU law and that it will fight this with all legal means. Croatia's Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic says he is unhappy about the latest developments in the INA-MOL case, while Economy Minister Vrdoljak says he will wait for concretisation of Hungary's plans before deciding on next steps. MOL says that the Croatian side does not possess the pre-emption right that Zagreb has gained by contracts signed in 2009, due to prior violation of these contracts. Nevertheless MOL will consult with the Croatian Government, which has already stated on many occasions about the intention of getting the operational control, MOL's press release reads adding that in this way the Hungarian company considers the Croatian state as a potential buyer.