ZAGREB, 11 December, 2021 - The Split County Court has upheld an indictment filed by the USKOK anti-corruption office against former Public Administration Minister Lovro Kuščević of the HDZ party, charged with real estate fraud and perverting the course of justice during his term as head of Nerežišća, a town on the island of Brač.
The investigation into Kuščević was launched in September 2019 after he stepped down as Public Administration Minister amid media reports that in the period from 2008 to 2018, during his term as Nerežišća mayor, he had unlawfully obtained HRK 4 million.
According to media reports at the time, he obtained the money through fraudulent activities involving land plots, changes of the local physical plan, bankruptcy proceedings and resale of commercial properties.
The investigation against Kuščević was subsequently expanded twice and also indicted in the case are his wife, his brother-in-law, former Nerežišća Town Council head Jakša Goić, the head of the town's administration department, Svemir Obilinović, and Split businessman Ante Marinović.
