The Osijek County Prosecutor's Office has dismissed as groundless a criminal complaint by the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Police against Rijeka Mayor Vojko Obersnel and three other persons in the case of the Trznice Rijeka fresh produce market operator in the northern Adriatic city of Rijeka.
The State Prosecutor's Office (DORH) said on its website on Friday that the 1996 concession agreement was signed in accordance with a Rijeka City Council decision of 10 June 1996, that it was not harmful to the City of Rijeka, and that it did not enable Trznice Rijeka to make illegal gain.
Moreover, DORH said, Trznice Rijeka operated as a retailer on its own property and did not have the obligation to align its operation with the law on municipal economy, as this law does not apply in this case.
DORH also added that the ownership transformation of Trznice Rijeka was done legally.
In March 2010, the police pressed charges against Obersnel, two senior officials of the city government, and a member of the management board of Trznice Rijeka on the suspicion that by abusing their powers and signing harmful contracts they had defrauded the city of HRK 80 million. The media reported that Trznice Rijeka was favoured by the city authorities by being charged local rates only for in-door market space and not for outdoor space.
