Responding to a question by a deputy of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Karamarko said that the national anti-corruption office USKOK was investigating the case, in which officials from the government of the late Social Democratic Party (SDP) Prime Minister Ivica Racan had allegedly received USD 5 million in kickbacks.

Karamarko said that he could not discuss details of the investigation because it was led by USKOK. He said that the documents were being examined both by USKOK and the police, adding that he believed that the investigation would produce good results.

USKOK launched a probe last year after top executives of the German car maker admitted before a federal court in Washington in April 2010 to giving bribes to government officials in 22 countries, including Croatia, in exchange for lucrative contracts. Between 2002 and January 2008, Daimler allegedly paid EUR 4.7 million in bribes to Croatian government officials in connection with a EUR 85 million purchase of 210 fire trucks by the Interior Ministry in 2003.

The US court's documents did not state the names or positions of those implicated in Croatia, saying only that they were government officials.

According to the court documents, payments in the amount of some EUR 3.02 million were made via the IM Metal company based in Ozalj while EUR 1,673,349 was paid via US companies Biotop and MRC based in Delaware and Wyoming respectively.

The deal with Dailmer was signed by Prime Minister Ivica Racan and the ministers of the economy, finance and the interior -- Ljubo Jurcic, Mato Crkvenac and Sime Lucin, who have claimed that they did not take any bribes and that no one offered them.

Daimler settled the case in the US by pleading guilty to the charges and agreeing to a $185 million fine. The judge ruled on the basis of the plea agreement that the office of Daimler ETF in Croatia should pay $29,120,000 in damages for bribery in Croatia.