Owners of the Ozalj-headquartered "IM Metal" company, Ivan Zapcic and Marko Vukovic, and engineer Tomica Godec were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Daimler scandal, Croatian Interior Ministry spokesman Krunoslav Borovec said on Tuesday.
Borovec said that the three arrested men were suspected of bribery in the purchase of more than 200 fire-fighting vehicles.
The spokesman declined to say where they had been arrested and on what charges.
The Daimler scandal came into the limelight after it was established in the United States that this car making company, now owned by European, U.S. and other international investors, had given more than USD 100 million in bribes to officials in various countries, including Croatia.
Croatia's part of this international scandal refers to the supply of fire-fighting cars. According to media reports, EUR 4 million was paid in bribes for the deal.
The agreement with Daimler was signed when the Social Democratic Party (SDP)-led coalition was in power and Sime Lucin of the SDP was Interior Minister.
According to findings of U.S. investigators, bribes were paid from 2003 to 2007.
The IM Metal company was engaged in the job of supplying the fire trucks.
