Milanović slams Chief State Prosecutor's Office for persecuting former Agrokor owner

The Croatian President was in the Istrian coastal resort town of Poreč on Thursday, where he attended a ceremony marking the 29th anniversary of the adoption of the Istrian Statute.

During a visit to Istra County on Thursday President Zoran Milanović commented on Wednesday's decision by the Indictment Panel of the Zagreb County Court in the Agrokor case, in which it dismissed the findings of financial expert Ismet Kamal, deeming his forensic report as inadmissible. The report represents the keystone of the indictment against former Agrokor owner Ivica Todorić and others for allegedly extracting some €160 from the Agrokor Group.

Milanović started by saying that the legal process being waged against Todorić was more akin to a public persecution than any legal proceeding: "I'd like to say a word or two about this failed expert financial analysis in the case against Mr. Todorić, or better said his persecution. Because, if you want to try someone and send them to prison, you must have evidence."

He went on to question the entire process by which Todorić was stripped of Agrokor: "OK, so Agrokor has been taken away from him and some debts to suppliers were paid off, and I applaud that, I'm glad those people their money. However, how many years have passed since he was declared public enemy number one? What has happened in these six years? "

The president concluded that Wednesday's ruling has shown that the Chief State Prosecutor's Office and government have been engaged in highly questionable practices with regard to their effort to try Todorić and his former associates: "We know now that the consultant hired for the forensic analysis was compromised. We know who engaged this consultant. Who is friends with whom? What is the state prosecutor’s office waiting for? This is a conspiracy. More than one million euros have been lost and Todorić is a free man. Six years have transpired and right now there is no forensic evidence against him."

Source: HRT