"I have no knowledge of any request from any Croatian authority for the Chairman of MOL to be questioned in the subject. Rumors in the media have never been a sound basis for any reaction from our side," Kara said when asked to comment on news that Zagreb's County Court today issued a detention order for Hernadi, who is suspected of bribing former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader into giving MOL management rights in the Croatian oil and gas company INA.
"The way I read it is, that the Croatian Court appears to be justifying the issuing of a detention order by an alleged danger of escape, a claim which is both unreasonable and baseless," said Kara.
"I regard the whole case as flawed in form and substance and it appears to be influenced by interests seeking to intimidate both the company and its Chairman," he added.
"I wish to emphasize that the only legal sound basis for me is the decision of the Hungarian authorities dismissing totally this case back in January 2012 after a thorough investigation, due to lack of any criminal act and (which) refused to further investigate into other assertions which amount to mere speculation and unfounded allegations," said Kara, who also sits on INA's management board.
Croatian prosecutors decided on the detention order, at the request of the anti-corruption office USKOK, after Hungarian authorities recently refused to serve Hernadi with a summons to be questioned in Croatia and prior to that would not question him themselves, citing the protection of national interests. The Hungarian authorities said they had investigated and closed the case, finding nothing unlawful.
Now that an investigating judge issued a detention order citing flight risk, an arrest warrant can also be issued for Hernadi.