Former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader arrived in the anti-corruption prosecutorial agency USKOK headquarters shortly before 1130 hours Friday to be interrogated by USKOK investigators in his capacity as a suspect in the scandal involving the sale of the office building in Planinska Street.
Sanader was accompanies by his attorneys Jadranka Slokovic and Cedo Prodanovic. They did not address the press before the interrogation. On an earlier occasion, they announced they would present counter-arguments and respond to the accusations that Sanader had abused his position, namely that he had the final saying in the government's decision to sell the said office building for twice the realistic price.
In the latest investigation launched by USKOK against Sanader, the former prime minister, the previous Minister of Regional Development, Forestry and Water Management, Petar Cobankovic, former Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) member of Parliament Stjepan Fiolic and court expert Mate Bitanga are suspected of irregularities in the sale of an office building in Planinska Street in Zagreb estimated at 26.4 million kuna (3.5 million euros).
The Jutarnji List daily today released the video recording of Cobankovic's interrogation in USKOK which took place on 11 April. The former minister said a large number of people in the government was aware that the building in Planinska Street was Fiolic's property and that his ministry bought it at Sanader's request.
A month before, Fiolic's testimony also leaked to the public. Fiolic told the investigators that Sanader had hidden five paintings estimated at EUR230,000 at his house and that he gave Sanader approximately HRK20 million siphoned from the sale of the building in Planinska Street.
Following the leakage of those testimonies to the press, USKOK refuted the defence's accusation that it was the agency's investigators who leaked those statements to the press.
Talking to the USKOK investigators today, Sanader rejected all accusations against him, stressing that Fiolic and Cobankovic had falsely accused him.
"People lie under pressure. I understand this was done out of some kind of fear, but I believe we must put an end to this in Croatia. This is about people being pressured into lying," Sanader said.
He stressed he was not worried about the new investigation against him and that he was confident the truth would prevail.
The former PM said he had not spoken with Fiolic since the investigation was launched and he denied to comment on Fiolic's claims about hiding paintings at Fiolic's property.
Sanader's defence announced they would launch a procedure before the European Court of Human Rights because of the leakage of testimonies from this investigation to the press.
