"Not only will such things not intimidate me, but will additionally motivate me," Grbic told a press conference. He stressed that he would not give up the fight against corruption, adding that he had the strong support of Interior Minister Tomislav Karamarko in that regard.

Grbic also denied that he had called Ivo Sanader, two weeks after he resigned as prime minister, on the phone to update him on the proceedings against former defence minister Berislav Roncevic.

Grbic, however, confirmed that he had met with Polancec in his office at the Economy Ministry three times, but always at Polancec's invitation and not at Sanader's recommendation.

"What kind of a police officer would I be to obstruct the work of the police with unfounded anonymous charges, all the more so since as chief of police I have broad powers," Grbic said.

Speaking of a corruption case relating to the purchase of military trucks, Grbic said that it was at his insistence that the case had been closed with criminal charges against the former defence minister. "What reason would a chief of police have to go to the Office of the Prime Minister if he made maximum effort to bring an investigation to a close," he asked, stressing that no one had ever tried to influence him while at the helm of the police.

Grbic said that speculations about the HDZ's influence on him were best proved wrong by statistics because most of the suspects arrested in corruption scandals were close to that party.

Recalling their meetings at the Economy Ministry, Grbic said that it had seemed to him that Polancec wanted to make an impression of a benevolent and friendly person ready to help. He said that during their meetings Polancec had never been interested about Roncevic and the military trucks case, but about a case dubbed Spice, in which police were investigating executives of the Podravka food company and Polancec was not a suspect at the time.

When he had found out where things were going, Polancec became more direct at the third meeting, requesting that the police "make a 30-day pause" so he could "iron all things out," Grbic said. "He was very angry because as deputy prime minister he didn't know when those responsible will be arrested," he added.

Grbic would not go into the motives of "Polancec's insinuations", only saying that "several demanding police investigations are under way" that might shed light on his motives.

Grbic put Polancec's statement in the context of his recent meeting with senior Social Democratic Party (SDP) official Slavko Linic, who has named Grbic as the author of anonymous charges. "Isn't it odd that Polancec started to have a guilty conscience only two years later, after he had a coffee with Linic. How come that the erstwhile bitter opponents are now giving each other a shoulder to cry on?" he said.

Grbic also mentioned Polancec's lawyer, Anto Nobilo, saying that Nobilo had already been involved in "suspicious dealings on the verge of legality."

When asked if the investigation he had announced would cover Linic and Polancec, Grbic did not give an explicit answer, saying that he was "only voicing suspicions as everyone else has been lately."

When asked if he had met with former prime minister Sanader after his resignation, Grbic said that Sanader had once invited him for a coffee and that he had accepted the invitation after receiving permission from minister Karamarko. "We talked about general subjects, like the atmosphere in the police, and he gave me unreserved support for the fight against corruption," Grbic said.