Nine people arrested in the anti-corruption action dubbed Hippocrates, including Farmal CEO Drazen Dedi and his closest associates have been remanded in investigative custody for a month by the Zagreb County Court after the anti-corruption office's (USKOK) request that these nine, of the 76 people suspected of bribery and abuse of office, be detained.
The nine are to be detained to prevent them from repeating the crime or from destroying evidence or influencing witnesses.
Remand was requested for those suspects who did not wish to cooperate during questioning which began on Monday. USKOK has questioned 26 suspects so far and will continue with the questioning.
USKOK claims that Dedi, CFO Jasna Majhen and regional directors Sinisa Vujaklija and Dragutin Caleta conspired in 2009 to coerce doctors to prescribe their medicine to patients in return for money and gifts ranging from five to ten percent of the value of the medicaments prescribed.
The company employed 22 people who continually, in keeping with instructions, offered 49 doctors and one pharmacist money, shopping vouchers, and other gifts with company money for medicines prescribed from the company.
Unofficial sources state that complete documentation of the procedure was kept which helped investigators uncover the corruptive network.
