ZAGREB, December 20, 2018 - Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic on Wednesday commented on the forthcoming transfer of Sandra Zeljko, a corruption suspect in a travel allowance scam, to his ministry.
Božinović said that as a result of government efforts to downsize the public administration, several agencies had been merged and added to the Interior Ministry, including the Mine Clearance Office where Zeljko works.
Zeljko is suspected of collecting fictitious travel expenses while serving as a secretary in the Prime Minister's Office.
The USKOK anti-corruption office has indicted Tomislav Saucha, chief of staff in the Prime Minister's Office during the term of the SDP-led government, and his secretary Zeljko for defrauding the state budget of over 580,000 kuna. Saucha was also accused of sharing the profit with Zeljko, a former key witness in this case.
USKOK suspects that Zeljko continued to collect fictitious travel expenses even after the end of Saucha's term in the government. Zeljko is now also suspected of forging the signatures of Saucha's successors Neven Zelić and Davor Božinović himself, from March 2016 to February 2017, collecting nearly 350,000 kuna in fictitious travel expenses.
Božinović explained that during the merger of the agencies the Interior Ministry also takes over their staff.
He said that Zeljko has been on sick leave for a long time and that a medical board would be requested to assess whether she was fit to continue her duties considering her long absence from work.
More news on the corruption cases in Croatia can be found in our Politics section.
