ZAGREB, Sept 12 (Hina) - The Croatian police on Friday pressed charges against Ivic Pasalic, Ante Beljo and Ivan Aralica on suspicion of embezzling 300,000 kuna (EUR40,000) of government funds while they headed a Croatian Democratic
Union (HDZ) party foundation, unofficial sources have said.
ZAGREB, Sept 12 (Hina) - The Croatian police on Friday pressed
charges against Ivic Pasalic, Ante Beljo and Ivan Aralica on
suspicion of embezzling 300,000 kuna (EUR40,000) of government
funds while they headed a Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party
foundation, unofficial sources have said. #L#
The police stated that charges had been pressed against three
responsible persons in a party foundation without revealing their
names. A source close to the police, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, has confirmed that the foundation in question is
"Zaklada hrvatskog drzavnog zavjeta" and the persons charged its
three former heads -- Pasalic, Beljo and Aralica.
The three are suspected of having used funds deposited in a bank
account in Austria, although they were aware that the money did not
belong to the foundation but the Republic of Croatia. The police
claim that in this way they illegally acquired around 40,000 euros,
which according to some sources was interest on 1.5 million euros
transferred from the Austrian bank account to the foundation's bank
account at Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ).
In June last year, following a request by the Office of the State
Prosecutor which had filed a lawsuit against the foundation, the
Zagreb Municipal Court imposed a temporary ban on the management of
the funds.
The State Prosecution claimed that the money had been raised by
Croatian emigrants for the defence of Croatia and that it belonged
to the state and not the foundation. This has now been confirmed by
the police.
The HDZ foundation has also been sued by Radovan Smokvina, who
claims that it illegally transferred into its bank account the
money he and other emigrants had deposited in a bank in Villach,
Austria, at the beginning of the war in Croatia.
If the State Prosecution decides to prosecute the three, it will
have to request the parliament to strip Beljo and Pasalic of
immunity as parliamentary deputies.
In a statement issued today, Pasalic said the claims about the
foundation's illegal operations were a blatant lie and
fabrication.
Dismissing the claims that he had transferred the emigrants' money
to the foundation's bank account, the incumbent president of the
Croatian Bloc party said the money from the bank in Austria had been
transferred to a special account of the foundation at the PBZ by
Hrvoje Sarinic, one of the closest associates of the first Croatian
president and leader of the HDZ, Franjo Tudjman.
Pasalic also claimed that Vesna Skare Ozbolt, another close
associate of Tudjman's and present leader of the Democratic Centre
party, had arranged for the account to be opened at the PBZ.
Pasalic believes that this is an attempt to discredit him and his
party ahead of parliamentary elections.
In a statement to Hina, Ante Beljo, who recently left the HDZ to join
the Croatian True Revival (HIP) party, dismissed the charges,
adding that they were an attempt to square accounts with political
opponents.
Writer Ivan Aralica was unavailable for comment this evening.
(hina) rml