The statement was prompted by a series of articles on the Index.hr news portal saying that Linic was facing an investigation on suspicion that bribes had been deposited into his secret bank account in Trieste, as claimed by Mirja Tomas, former secretary to the owner and CEO of JPS.

Tomas told a press conference in August that she had informed the anti-corruption office USKOK of irregularities that had occurred during the privatisation of that company and that Linic was connected with those irregularities.

The County Prosecutor's Office said that a series of checks had been made by the relevant authorities, including Customs, the Office for Prevention of Money Laundering, the Ministry of Finance, banks and the police, adding that the police had not yet completed their investigation. "The latest activities of the Prosecutor's Office include a request for international legal aid from the authorities of two countries," the statement said.

Linic on Thursday dismissed the allegations as "lies and deceptions" spread by Index.hr. He said that Italy and Croatia were looking together into the allegation that he had received bribes through a bank account in Trieste, stressing that he had no bank accounts outside Croatia.