A former spokesman for the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the government, Ratko Macek, was questioned by the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) for more than three hours in Zagreb on Wednesday and after his interview, his lawyer Tihomir Rubesa told reporters outside the USKOK building that his client had presented his defence.
Both Macek and the lawyer declined to divulge any detail from the questioning, citing confidentiality.
Macek is one of the new suspects in the Fimi Media case. Earlier on Wednesday, HDZ official Ivan Jarnjak was questioned by USKOK investigators.
The two are implicated in the Fimi Media scandal investigation, which has recently been expanded to include also the HDZ as a legal entity.
The Fimi Media scandal refers to speculations that money was syphoned from some state agencies and companies through the private Fimi Media marketing agency and that a part of that money ended up in the alleged HDZ slush fund, used to finance election campaigns.
After news recently broke that Macek, who used to be the chief of the HDZ election campaigns, was one of a score of suspects in this case, he said he hoped that he would have an opportunity to dispel any suspicion before USKOK about his involvement in any offence.
In mid-March, Macek was questioned as a witness in this case, when he reportedly said that he had no reason to doubt that the money he was given by a former HDZ treasurer had been syphoned from state companies.
Until 2002, Macek was a Varazdin correspondent of the national television HTV, after which former HDZ leader Ivo Sanader chose him as the HDZ spokesman. After the 2003 election, when the HDZ came to power, Macek became the government's spokesman. He stepped down as HDZ spokesman at his own request after the 2007 election campaign, and set up his private marketing company.
HDZ representative Damir Sesvecan and the party's lawyer, Vladimir Gredelj, are likely to be questioned by USKOK on Friday, according to media speculations.
