National Police Director Oliver Grbic confirmed on Friday that five persons had been arrested and that an investigation had shown that a group of people conspired to influence members of the Supreme Court, namely their verdict in the case of Branimir Glavas, a former member of the Croatian Parliament convicted of war crimes.
The arrested persons, including Drago Tadic, director of the Osijek Koteks construction company, whose house was raided earlier today, tried to bribe Supreme Court judges.
The five persons were arrested in the eastern Croatian town of Osijek and other Croatian cities. Their offices and homes are currently being raided, Grbic said.
Police say they expect the raid to be completed by 1400 or 1500 hours, after which a criminal investigation will be launched.
Between 12 and 15 people were either passively or actively involved in the bribery scandal.
Grbic told reporters that parliamentary deputy Ivan Drmic of Glavas's regional HDSSB party would also be interviewed, given that he was the one to press criminal charged, after the media reported on this case.
Before the official confirmation, reporters spotted police outside the home of the Osijek Koteks director. Nobody was allowed in, so it was assumed that Tadic's home was being raided.
It was also assumed that the ongoing raid, which started at 0700 hours, was connected with the alleged attempt to bribe Supreme Court judges with EUR 70,000 in the Glavas case.
The spokeswoman for the Osijek-Baranja Police, Edita Roterbauer, told reporters to direct all questions to the spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Krunoslav Borovec.
