The Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (Hanfa) on Friday responded to attacks from the Hungarian oil company MOL, saying in a statement that it was enforcing the laws which all investors were obliged to respect, including MOL.
It is intolerable and unacceptable that a strategic partner, a participant in the capital market, should systematically attack and attempt to publicly discredit legal and legitimate Croatian institutions while at the same time ignoring Croatian laws, the statement said.
Respecting the laws and legal institutions of the country in which one operates is not only a fundamental business principle in the world but also a matter of elementary politeness, the statement said.
It added that every participant in the capital market was obliged to respect the laws passed by the Croatian parliament, irrespective of where they or their financial power and influence came from.
"Every investor is welcome in Croatia as long as they abide by the law like all other player on the capital market."
The processes that Hanfa, as an independent institution, has launched in accordance with the law will not be stopped because of media pressure, insults against and the belittling of institutions of the country in which one operates or because of continued attempts to discredit the institution and its people, the statement said.
Croatian laws apply to everyone on the market and Hanfa will ensure their enforcement via legal institutions, disregarding MOL's manipulation of public opinion which is aimed at influencing the outcome of the ongoing processes, the statement said.
Hanfa on April 28 temporarily suspended trading in shares of the Croatian oil company INA, extending the suspension twice, until May 20, asking MOL, INA's majority owner, to submit documentation on the model of acquiring INA stock.
Earlier this week, Hanfa found that MOL had manipulated the market because, after a public offering, it bought shares and signed option contracts on INA stock at much higher prices than those in a private bid in which it offered HRK 2,800 per share, thus damaging and misleading the investment public and disguising the real objective of its offer.
The media have unofficially reported that Hanfa will press charges against responsible persons in MOL for capital market manipulation.
MOL said in a statement that it had bought the stock legally and that it had not broken the law, accusing Hanfa of pressure, bias and unfairness and dismissing all allegations and accusations of market manipulation. The Hungarian company announced legal action against Hanfa's decisions and actions.
