Darko Beuk, a member of the managing board of the state-owned Hrvatske Sume forest and woodland management company and its former director, was arrested within the national anti-corruption investigation agency's probe into the Fimi-media case, a source close to the investigation said on Tuesday.
Neither the police nor the anti-corruption investigation agency USKOK wanted to confirm Beuk's apprehension.
However, later in the day the current CEO of the public forest management company, Darko Vuletic, confirmed that his predecessor Beuk was arrested on Tuesday morning. According to Vuletic, the police are searching Beuk's offices.
Vuletic stressed that he could not speak about the reasons for Beuk's apprehension as the investigation was under way.
According to media allegations, while he was the Hrvatske Sume CEO, Beuk signed a deal with the private Fimi-media marketing company.
USKOK launched an investigation into Fimi-media's dealings with public companies in August this year, when Fimi-media director Nevenka Jurak and her associate Anita Loncar Papes were arrested.
They are suspected of having submitted false bills for nonexistent services, thus obtaining illegal gain for themselves in the amount of HRK 16.5 million.
