Speaking at a trial against Sanader and the HDZ at the Zagreb County Court on Tuesday, Mravak said he personally took the cash siphoned from HEP to Barisic at his office at the Customs Administration or the HDZ's headquarters. Mravak was convicted to 18 months for this in late 2011 after a plea deal with the anti-corruption office USKOK.
Mravak said he understood Barisic's request as an order because he was the HDZ's treasurer and Sanader's close friend, recalling that colleagues had told him that refusing Barisic's request "wouldn't be good" as he could be relieved of duty.
HEP's cooperation with Fimi Media in 2005-07 cost about HRK 7 million. When jobs had to be awarded in public tenders, the names of the companies that should bid were agreed with Fimi Media owner Nevenka Jurak and their bids were a dozen per cent higher.
Mravak told the court that Barisic called him to the HDZ's headquarters in the autumn of 2007 to tell him that the party should raise about HRK 15 million because of elections.
"Barisic told me I was expected to act on the prime minister's instructions and that donations should be raised by taking three per cent on each job concluded by HEP," Mravak said, adding that he conveyed the demands to his subordinates and that in the summer of 2009 he gave Barisic HRK 600,000 in cash, half of which he took to his office at the Customs Administration, of which Barisic was the director, and the rest to the HDZ's headquarters later on.
Mravak said he did not receive any receipts for the donations. Asked by the HDZ's attorney how he knew the money was intended for the party, he reiterated that Barisic had clearly told him the money was necessary to fund election campaigns.
Responding to a question from the prosecution, Mravak could not recall a meeting at the government in 2007 at which Sanader allegedly advised the heads of public companies to cooperate with Fimi Media.
Mravak is accused of a number of corruption crimes at HEP's expense, including of defrauding it of HRK 650 million by selling electricity at a low price to the Aluminij company from Mostar, Bosnia. Sanader is also suspected in this case but has not been indicted yet.
Mravak is also accused of employing in HEP a returnee from Austria who was actually working at the HDZ.
The trial resumes on Monday.
(EUR 1 = HRK 7.43)