The national anti-corruption office USKOK has filed an indictment against the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, its former president and prime minister Ivo Sanader, and nine more legal entities or natural persons for illegally syphoning 46.6 million kuna (6.2 million euros) from state companies and institutions into the party's slush fund.
The 60,000-page document in the Fimi Media case was delivered to the Zagreb County Court at about 1400 hours on Friday, but the names of all the accused were not immediately known. Former executives of state companies and institutions were not included in this indictment and would be indicted separately.
In order for the indictment to become valid, it must be confirmed by the trial chamber in the case.
USKOK issued the indictment after a year and a half of investigating the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party as a legal entity, its former president and prime minister Ivo Sanader, former party treasurer Mladen Barisic, former party accountant Branka Pavosevic, former party spokesman Ratko Macek, the owner of the Fimi Media marketing firm, Nevenka Jurak, and two of her associates Bojan Dimic and Anita Loncar Papes.
The following state officials or public company executives were under investigation: former Interior Minister Ivica Kirin, the former Director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Vinko Mladineo, former Hrvatske Sume chief Darko Beuk and former HAC executives Mario Crnjak, Jurica Prskalo, Josip Sapunar and Zlatko Korpar.
Apart from the HDZ and Fimi Media, also investigated were the firms Onida, Komunikacija-D and Ani-Lon. The investigation of former HDZ secretary-general Ivan Jarnjak was dropped for lack of evidence.
