Chief State Inspector Andrija Mikulić arrested over corruption allegations

After being arrested on Thursday on suspicion of corruption, the now former Chief State Inspector and three other suspects spent the night in police custody. Investigators have searched their places of resident as well as the State Inspectorate building.

The Chief State Inspector, Andrija Mikulić, and three other suspects were arrested on Thursday over two corruption cases. The first deals with illegal waste disposal, for which the husband and wife duo of Josip and Monika Šincek were arrested at the beginning of the year. The second deals with alleged fraud in two quarries in the Zagorje region.

Commenting on the arrest of his HDZ party colleague, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who appointed Mikulić to the inspectorate claiming that he would clean up the corruption in Croatia, insisted that the fact that Mikulić was dismissed yesterday just prior to his arrest has nothing to do with the USKOK anti-corruption agency's investigation, which he says he was unaware of: “We didn't know about the investigation, both Mikulić and the head of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund, we up for dismissal for other reasons. It was pure coincidence. We want a better standard of work at the State Inspectorate.”

However, the opposition finds the timing questionable, as is the timing of yesterday's dismissal of several directors of state-owned companies. For SDP MP Mirela Ahmetović this is a clear sign that Plenković is settling internal accounts in the HDZ: “What Plenković was trying to do with the sacking of these directors of state-owned companies, was to throw some shade on this corruption case. But it won't fly, because the citizens aren't morons. The problem is with Plenković, because he appointed this entire gang of people who were arrested. He created jobs for them. He is the don of all dons.”

Plenković responded by saying that it was merely time to refresh some personnel appointments and concluded that more changes are on the way.

Source: HRT