Former Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Damir Polancec, who is in investigative custody on suspicion of involvement in financial wrongdoing in the Podravka food company, is one of the suspects in a white-collar crime case in the state-owned electricity provider (HEP). The other two suspects in the HEP case -- its former CEO Ivan Mravak and a former CEO of the Sibenik-based metal company TLM Ivan Kostan -- were arrested on Friday.
Polancec's lawyer Anto Nobilo told Hina that upon learning that he was suspected of wrongdoing in HEP, Polancec said that his responsibility for the case was the same as that of "other members of the inner cabinet".
"Neither I nor Polancec have yet received any official request for investigation from USKOK," the lawyer said.
Neither the police nor the national anti-corruption investigative office USKOK have yet revealed the names of the three suspects in the HEP case. However, sources close to the investigation have confirmed that Ivan Mravak, Damir Polancec and former TLM director Ivan Kostan are the suspects.
According to the media, Mravak is suspected of signing harmful contracts which resulted in losses in 2007 and 2008, when HEP bought electricity at international tenders at high prices, only to sell it at considerably lower prices to the Sibenik-based TLM company, which gave it to the Aluminij company from Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina. In this way, the state budget and HEP were defrauded of at least HRK 85 million.
According to Mravak's lawyers, he was taken to the police for questioning after his flat was searched on Friday morning. His lawyers said he would be detained in police custody.
Kostan was arrested in Sibenik.
Later on Friday the police issued a statement saying that five people were under investigation into possible wrongdoings in HEP.
The police did not name the suspects, reporting only that charges had been pressed against them.
