ZAGREB, 19 October, 2021 - A former director-general of the HRT public broadcaster, Kazimir Bačić, was released from custody on Monday evening, his lawyers said on Tuesday morning.
Bačić was arrested on suspicion of graft and influence peddling in late June, and in mid-July he was relieved of his duties as Director-General of the HRT public broadcasting service by 116 to two votes.
USKOK corruption investigators suspect that Bačić, acting on behalf of businessman Milan Lončarić, took €50,000 in a bribe to the late Zagreb mayor Milan Bandić for the Gardens of Light project. As a reward for his role Bačić is believed to have been given an apartment worth HRK 1 million (€133,300) in central Zagreb.
According to lawyer Nikola Mandić, his client will return to the HRT where he will probably work as an engineer in the HRT technical department where he had also worked before being appointed the broadcaster's director-general.
Bačić thus appeared in the HRT building on Tuesday morning while the parliament was discussing the appointment of new HRT director-general, and Robert Šveb has been nominated for this post.
