Member of Parliament Karolina Vidović Krišto (Determination and Justice) asserted on Friday that the County Court’s decision regarding the Agrokor-Todorić case and public reactions to it are proof that Croatia is in a constitutional crisis because the Croatian judiciary is under the control of corrupt structures.
The Agrokor case does not have a confirmed indictment even six years after the collapse of Agrokor, and none of the accused has spent a single day in pre-trial detention, Krišto Vidović pointed out at the press conference.
“The prefect of Vukovar-Srijem, Damir Dekanić, is in pre-trial detention for a traffic violation, and Todorić and his close associates, due to billions of euros, have not even seen pre-trial detention. This play, in which the courts and the state attorney’s office act as judicial institutions, is an answer to Croatian citizens why they live badly and suffer injustice,” says Krišto Vidović.
If the Croatian judiciary acted in accordance with the laws and European norms, Todorić would have been judged a long time ago, the taxpayers would have been compensated, and Fortenova would not have been registered in the Netherlands but would have successfully operated in Croatia.
“Because of the Croatian judiciary, Agrokor threatens to become the new Ina, because just as we paid over two billion kunas in arbitrations for Ina, Todorić also announces that taxpayers will pay him billions of euros in damages,” said the representative.
She accused Todorić of being “a person who is highly likely to have been a war profiteer”, and of destroying Croatian agriculture so that he could make extreme profits through imports. In order for him to be able to do this unhindered, he employed the children of politicians and judges, whose parents enabled him to do so.
Todorić was promised judicial protection in exchange for silence
“The behavior of the DORH and the courts is a prearranged act, so that Todorić and his co-perpetrators would not be held accountable. This is the agreement from 2017 between Martina Dalić, Davor Božinović and Zdravko Marić with Ivica Todorić – they promised him judicial protection, and in return Todorić would not expose details of the corruption of politicians, media and judicial powers, and will not touch his property,” Krišto Vidović claims.
Therefore, the representative asks DORH – why was no indictment brought for the falsification of Agrokor’s balance sheet, which was proven by the international credit rating agency Moody’s?
“Why haven’t Ivica Todorić’s accounts abroad been investigated, for which there is evidence in the Office for the Prevention of Money Laundering of the Ministry of Finance,” says Krišto Vidović.
In addition, he adds, why is Todorić’s castle, which he supposedly built for business purposes, in order to book it as an expense and get a VAT refund, still not taxed?
An ordinary person would be charged profit tax and would have to return VAT, every other entrepreneur in Croatia would be fined 45 percent of the total value of the building, and be criminally prosecuted, and Todorić was not even charged, according to the representative.