Turudić’s cousin pleaded guilty and received a suspended sentence, he also returned 309,275 euros in tax evasion

For a year entrepreneur Miro Vrlja, best known to the public as “Brother” was sentenced to prison, suspended for five years at the Ž County Court in Zagreb. chief state attorney Ivan Turudi. This means that they will not go to prison if they do not commit a new criminal offense in the next five years.

Let us remind you that he was accused of having bought a yacht for operational leasing in March 2008 at the expense of the Tutus power company, and then used it for private, not business, purposes. In this way, according to the prosecutor’s office, he damaged his company for around 400,000 euros. He was also accused of evading a total of 309,275 euros in taxes, which the prosecution demanded from him. This amount is Vrlja već paid before the hearing at which he presented his defense, and on September 19 he sat on the account of the state budget. If they want to collect interest on that amount from Vrlja, the prosecutor’s office will have to initiate a lawsuit against him.

Within 15 days, Vrlja must also return illegal property benefits in the amount of 406,748 euros and pay court costs – 1,000 euros as a lump sum and 7,992 euros for bookkeeping-financial and forensic-medical expertise. Since the parties waived their right to appeal, the verdict immediately became final.

Vrlja, who claimed that he was not guilty, changed his statement on Friday and confessed to all the charges against him.

– Given that the process has been going on for over 15 years, it has exhausted me and my family. For health and private reasons, I decided to plead guilty to both crimes. My wife is seriously ill, and I also have serious health problems. That’s all I have to say, all the documentation is in the file, let it speak – said Vrlja.

His defenders Nikola Mandić and Ivan Stanić they asked the court panel to take into account all the circumstances when determining the sentence.

– The interviewed witnesses indicate that there were a number of people around him with whom he consulted about making decisions regarding his company. This procedure takes a very long time and is burdened by the annulment decision of the Supreme Court. When everything is taken into account, it took a lot of courage for him to admit his actions and pay the property-legal claim. Since the beginning of the procedure, a whole series of circumstances has changed, he has health problems, his wife is seriously ill, he is the father of three children, and he should soon become a grandfather. Also, from the time of incrimination until today, he had no problems with the law – pointed out lawyer Mandi.

In her closing speech, the Deputy State Attorney of Zagreb County said that during the proceedings it was indisputably established and proven that Vrlja had committed the acts as charged in the indictment. she proposed to the court to declare him guilty and sentence him according to the law, and to confiscate the property benefit he illegally acquired.

In determining the sanction, the panel took into account the degree of guilt, the purpose of the punishment, but also Vrlja’s personal circumstances.

– The panel considers that it is not necessary to impose a prison sentence and that there are particularly mitigating circumstances that speak in favor of the application of the provisions on mitigating the sentence – said the president of the judicial panel.

Let us remind you that at the end of September 2018, Vrlja was illegally sentenced to a partial suspended sentence. He was supposed to spend eight months in prison, and he would remain free for the remaining one and two months if he did not commit a new criminal offense within four years.
The Supreme Court annulled that verdict in 2022 and sent the case back for retrial.
Otherwise, as we wrote, Vrlja is bigger. He postponed going to prison four times due to health problems, and recently he requested a fifth postponement. He should serve a year for tax evasion from 2007.

The final verdict was only passed in 2022, but since then he has been able to postpone going to prison.