ZAGREB, October 19, 2018 - The Mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandić, and his co-defendants have been acquitted of the charge of favourable treatment of a non-governmental organisation at the expense of the municipal budget.
The ruling was announced by Zagreb County Court Judge Zdravko Majerović on Friday.
The indictment alleged that Bandić, his assistant Ivica Lovrić and the CEO of the Zagreb Markets company, Zdenka Palac, allowed the non-governmental organisation "In the Name of the Family" to use market stalls for gathering signatures for a referendum to change electoral law free of charge, which cost the municipal budget at least 308,000 kuna (41,500 euro).
Bandić is also on trial in another case, in which he and another 10 people are charged with defrauding the municipal budget of several million kuna. The trial opened last week and all the accused pleaded not guilty to all charges.
