The Chairman of the Croatian Parliament's Home Affairs and National Security Committee, Ranko Ostojic, said on Thursday that the Committee would formally ask the Austrian authorities for international legal assistance in obtaining information relating to an ongoing international investigation of Austria's Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank.
"In consultations with our Foreign Ministry and State Prosecutor's Office, we will request from them all the necessary information," Ostojic told a press conference after a closed-door meeting of the Committee.
Ostojic said that, if necessary, he and Committee Vice-Chairman Tomislav Culjak would travel to Austria for that purpose.
Ostojic declined to comment on the proposal put forward earlier in the day by Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) leader Ivan Jakovcic to set up an inquiry commission to look into the bank's transactions in Istria.
"That's his right, but the Committee has opted for this path because we think it will be effective," Ostojic said.
Chief State Prosecutor Mladen Bajic also spoke of the Hypo bank scandal, saying that his office knew about bank accounts, banks and code names, but lacked information on money flows and the owners of the bank accounts.
Bajic said that only Austrian banks could provide answers to those questions. "That's why we have asked the Croatian Parliament for support to intercede with the Austrian banks to provide documents concerning Croatia. When we get them, we will deal with the problem easily."
Bajic dismissed speculations that his office was protecting anyone, stressing that proceedings could not be launched without documents.
