The crime police investigation into the alleged bribery of Croatian officials during the purchase of armoured vehicles from Finland's biggest arms manufacturer Patria led to the President's Office, Croatian Television and Jutarnji List daily reported citing an unnamed source who confirmed that the police have requested a registry of visitors in the President's Office.
This way, Jutarnji List said, the police wanted to verify allegation made by Wolfgang Riedl, Patria's go-between person during the sale of armoured vehicles in Slovenia and for a short period of time in Croatia as well, about meetings that allegedly took place in the Office of the President during at the time when the office was occupied by Stjepan Mesic.
Spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry, Jelena Bikic, did not wish to comment on the investigation into the Patria case, stressing that the case was in the jurisdiction of the anti corruption office USKOK. USKOK also declined to comment on the investigation.
Former president Mesic is currently out of country and according to Croatian Television he is not available for comment. Mesic told the press last January that the purchase of armoured vehicles from the Finnish company was a very good deal, but also confirmed that a person from Croatia had attempted unsuccessfully to approach Patria, offering a more favourable deal after the contract had been signed.
"Patria informed us that someone from Croatia had visited them, falsely stating their identity, when the deal was already concluded. Officials at Patria told us that they did not take the visit seriously, and I don't know if the current investigation is going in that direction. I believe that Patria keeps a record of its visitors," Mesic told the media when asked to comment on the ongoing investigation by USKOK into the purchase of 84 armoured vehicles from Patria in 2007, worth EUR 112 million.
The investigation in the Patria case started in Finland whose national investigation office in 2009 said police suspected that money had been given to state officials and people who made decisions in 2007, after Patria signed of the deal with the Croatian Defence Ministry.
The then Croatian chief of police Oliver Grbic said in February 2010 the Croatian State Attorney's Office had asked the Finnish authorities for information about the Patria company. The same year, the Croatian Chief State Prosecutor's Office and Finnish and Austrian prosecutors set up a joint team of investigators.
The Croatian media speculated that the Croatian Defence Ministry received EUR 15 million in kickbacks from Patria for the said deal.
This January Finnish police arrested a former Patria executive for attempted bribery of unnamed Croatian officials. The executive, whose name was not given, is suspected of having bribed Croatian officials during the sale of Patria's armoured vehicles to Croatia in 2007, when Croatia bought 84 armoured vehicles for 112 million euros. The arrested executive was previously suspected of bribery during the sale of armoured vehicles to Slovenia in 2006 when Slovenia bought 135 armoured vehicles from Patria for 280 million euros.
Slovenia issued an indictment in the Patria case against the then and incumbent prime minister Janez Jansa and four other persons.
Former Croatian Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic has refuted claims on several occasion that there was any bribery in the deal with Patria, stressing that the deal was clean and transparent.
