Former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader on Tuesday morning arrived at the USKOK headquarters without his lawyers again, in order to be interrogated by USKOK investigators in connection with accusations that he and Dioki company owner Robert Jezic attempted to gain an illegal profit of 10 million euros for Dioki at the expense of the state-owned oil pipeline operator JANAF.
As Sanader arrived at the hearing shortly before 10 without his lawyers, he will not be making a deposition and will most probably be given a new date for the questioning. Sanader's questioning in the HEP-TLM case last week was also canceled for the same reason.
Although he had hired three attorneys, none of them were able to accompany him to the headquarters of USKOK (Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime) this morning. Sanader's attorney Cedo Prodanovic is recovering from knee surgery, attorney Goran Suic is out of the country and attorney Jadranka Slokovic has a cold.
Sanader is suspected that between November 2008 and June 2009, he used his position as prime minister to see to it that a building plot with a terminal for storing oil and oil products at Zagreb's industrial zone of Zitnjak be sold under condition set by Jezic and at the price of at least EUR 28 million, also set by Jezic. This price was EUR10 million highers than the actual value of the land. JANAF executives turned down Sanader's proposal, as they were aware that buying that plot at such a price would damage the state-owned company.
USKOK widened the investigation against Sanader and Dioki owner Jezic last March. Before that they were suspected of the unlawful sale of power from the state-owned HEP electricity provider to Dioki at a price below the market price.
