The president of the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) and head of Istria County, Ivan Jakovcic, on Thursday dismissed as a lie an article in a Croatian weekly saying that he had met the former governor of Austria's Carinthia province, Joerg Haider, several times in secrecy, and called for a thorough investigation into transactions of Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank in Croatia and Istria.
"It is evident that Hypo bank had clients in Croatia who possibly abused their positions and violated the law. That's why I am one of those who insist on a total investigation of all transactions conducted in Croatia, and being the president of a regional party I would also like to see this matter clarified in Istria," Jakovcic said at a press conference in Zagreb.
Jakovcic said he was confident his party could make a substantial contribution to shedding light on any negative aspects of the bank's transactions. He added that he would keep in touch with the Austrian authorities investigating Hypo bank, and called for establishing a similar commission of inquiry in Croatia.
Nacional magazine said in an article earlier this month that Jakovcic had met Haider at least five times, citing the Carinthian government's record of meetings and notes on their talks.
Jakovcic presented a letter from the Office of Carinthian Governor Gerhard Doerfler denying the allegations made in the article.
