ZAGREB, July 23, 2019 - The former head of the Dinamo football club, Zdravko Mamić, on Tuesday lambasted the president of the Croatian Supreme Court, Đuro Sessa, accusing him of being "corrupt" and adding that he had proof.

The State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is scheduled to deliver its decision on Tuesday regarding Mamić's extradition to Croatia where he and several others have been charged with siphoning about 200 million kuna from Dinamo.

Mamić fled to Bosnia and Herzegovina and is currently residing in Međugorje. He has adamantly claimed that this is a politically rigged case and that Croatian judges are corrupt.

"I'll talk about names some other time and under different circumstances. I do not want to burden myself with additional criminal complaints, but I will certainly bring out the big guns when the time comes," Mamić told reporters ahead of the court hearing in Sarajevo.

However, he did mention Sessa's name. "One of those six judges is the corrupt president of the Supreme Court Đuro Sessa. I am telling him that he is an unfair, corrupt judge who... does not deserve to be the president of the Supreme Court," Mamić said.

"Both he and I know he is corrupt and naturally I will prove that without any problems when the conditions for that are created," Mamić added.

He added that he expects the Bosnian State Court will not extradite him to Croatia and that he bases his optimism on the prosecutor's stance. "I believe that there is absolutely no reason for my extradition and I am optimistic regarding this court procedure," he said.

He said the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina functions without the influence of politics, unlike in Croatia.

Mamić's defence team too believes that the court will not decide to extradite him. The final decision regarding the extradition is up to the country's Justice Minister Josip Grubeša.

Croatia's Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjakovic called for Mamić's extradition in early June after Osijek County Court upheld a new indictment which Croatia's USKOK anti-corruption office filed against Mamić and six others for defrauding Dinamo of 200 million kuna, ordering that he be placed in custody.

Last spring, the Osijek Municipal Court sentenced Mamić in another case to 6.5 years in prison pending appeal for siphoning HRK 116 million from the football club.

The day before the verdict was delivered, he took refuge in Međugorje. He holds Croatian and Bosnian citizenship.

On Tuesday, Judge Sessa said that he was shocked by Mamić's claims.

"It's absurd to even comment on claims by a fugitive. Apart from being shocked, it is not clear to me what his motive are for saying something like that," Sessa told Hina.

More news about corruption in Croatia (alleged and real) can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 16, 2019 - The resignation tendered by State Assets Minister Goran Maric ensued after a few days ago Marić had held talks with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on that step and it is not a surprise, the government's public relations office says in a press release issued on Monday afternoon.

The government says that on Monday morning Marić sent his letter of resignation to PM Plenković and afterwards informed the public about that move.

Marić announced his resignation on Monday in the town of Novi Vinodolski at a contract-signing ceremony saying this was the last contract on donating state properties he would sign.

"I worked under terrible pressure; I became a target. I cannot accept the unprecedented attack on myself and my family," he told surprised reporters in that coastal town.

In his written resignation to the premier, Marić said the State Assets Ministry had never worked in calm circumstances. "I worked under almost programmed pressure and in circumstances in which doubts were encouraged and tacitly approved as to the organisational foundation of the Ministry and the introduction of the necessary regulation of the status of state assets."

Marić said it was inconceivable and unacceptable that "the media's orchestration and creation of a lynching atmosphere takes priority over a calm and sensible insight into the value, achievements and effects of state assets" in Croatia's politics, economy and society.

Marić said it was incomprehensible that the targeted media pressure made serious work undertaken to activate state property that had been abandoned or seized for decades unimportant.

He added that he "cannot accept and endure the unprecedented media and public attack on the dignity, peace and integrity of my family."

The media suspect Marić over the purchases and sales of flats and the renovation of a part of the Franciscan monastery in Zagreb. He came under preliminary investigation by the USKOK anti-corruption office after the Index portal revealed how he acquired a flat in downtown Zagreb.

Croatian Prime Minister's chief of staff, Zvonimir Frka-Petešić, said on Monday afternoon that during the process of reshuffling his cabinet, the premier would decide whether or not to abolish the ministry of state assets, and the public would be informed in a timely fashion upon the conclusion of consultations.

Addressing the press outside Government House, during a round of consultations, Frka- Petešić reiterated that PM Plenković had known that Goran Marić would today step down as State Assets Minister.

The cabinet's chief-of-staff recalled the course of the previous events. He said that in the morning Marić had sent his letter of resignation to the premier and afterwards informed the public about his decision to step down.

Asked by the press whether the premier had asked Marić to leave the government, Frka- Petešić said that the resignation was a result of the talks between Plenković and Marić a few days before. However, Frka- Petešić could not specify the exact date of those talks.

Živi Zid member of parliament Damjan Vucelić told a news conference in Zagreb on Monday that the only solutions for the "crimes that happen" is holding an early parliamentary election.

As for the resignation of State Assets Minister Goran Marić, Vucelić said that it "is scandalous and unacceptable that the minister in charge of managing state assets makes use of the state to accumulate his wealth".

This opposition party also criticises Marić's decision to reactivate his term as a member of parliament.

Thus, the Sabor turns into "a centre for those Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) ministers who are no longer of any use".

More news about Marić’s resignation can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 15, 2019 - State Assets Minister Goran Marić tendered his irrevocable resignation on Monday, saying he was doing so "given the circumstances and the atmosphere of grave media defamation of the status and the obstruction of the work and activity of the State Assets Ministry" and himself as minister.

Marić resigned in the coastal town of Novi Vinodolski after signing a contract on the gifting of state properties, saying this was the last contract he would sign.

"I worked under terrible pressure, I became a target. I cannot accept the unprecedented attack on myself and my family," he told surprised reporters.

In his written resignation to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Marić said the State Assets Ministry had never worked in calm circumstances. "I worked under almost programmed pressure and in circumstances in which doubts were encouraged and tacitly approved as to the organisational foundation of the Ministry and the introduction of the necessary regulation of the status of state assets."

Marić said it was inconceivable and unacceptable that "the media's orchestration and creation of a lynching atmosphere takes priority over a calm and sensible insight into the value, achievements and effects of state assets" in Croatia's politics, economy and society.

Marić said it was incomprehensible that the targeted media pressure made serious work undertaken to activate state property that had been abandoned or seized for decades unimportant.

He added that he "cannot accept and endure the unprecedented media and public attack on the dignity, peace and integrity of my family."

The media suspect Marić over the purchases and sales of flats and the renovation of a part of the Franciscan monastery in Zagreb. He came under preliminary investigation by the USKOK anti-corruption office after the Index portal revealed how he acquired a flat in downtown Zagreb.

 Following the decision by Goran Marić to step down as State Assets Minister, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Monday said that the best and fairest way to reshuffle the current cabinet of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković will be snap elections.

"The current government does not reflect the will of voters and therefore citizens are losing faith in politics and are departing from Croatia every day," SDP Secretary-General Nikša Vukas said.

Instead of having one by one minister burdened by scandals leaving the government, the best and fairest way to reshuffle the government will be through new elections, he added.

The political secretary of the opposition MOST party said on Monday the resignation of State Assets Minister Goran Marić had been extorted and that "the public again have not got answers to questions asked by the media about possible corruption."

"Stepping down is not the point, it's a necessity. It's necessary to render accounts to the public regarding accusations of possible corruption," Nikola Grmoja told reporters on his party's behalf.

He said Marić and Lovro Kuščević, who resigned as public administration minister last Monday, "are returning to parliament after the prime minister evidently renounced them. Now they must prove their loyalty to the party and to the prime minister, already during the vote on their successors."

Grmoja said the return of Marić and Kuščević to parliament would only reinforce the impression that the parliamentary majority was built on interests and blackmail.

More news about the state assets minister can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 12, 2019 - The State Assets Ministry on Friday denied claims made in an article headlined "Goran Marić's conflict of interest? Enabling former boss in whose apartment his son lives to purchase attractive land," in the Jutarnji List daily, claiming that someone is trying to impute conflict of interest on Minister Goran Marić with regard to the dissolution of co-ownership of state land.

The Jutarnji List claims that in May, Marić decided to sell over 13,000 square metres of land to companies related to Željko Udovičić, the owner of the company that owns the building in which Minster Marić's son is currently living. The land is located in Brsečine near Dubrovnik in a construction zone on the seashore and earmarked for a tourism resort and is valued at HRK 5.092 million.

The land accounts for just of 19% that Udovičić's company required, to be in a position to be registered as the sole owners of the land, which until then had been co-owned with the state, the daily said.

The state agreed to be registered as the sole owner of unattractive land above the road while the rest of the land was sold to Udovičić's companies, the article noted.

The State Assets Ministry claimed that the article was trying to impute conflict of interest onto Marić regarding the dissolution of co-ownership.

"The dispute over the right of ownership of land between the Republic of Croatia and Sikirica d.o.o. and Valeta d.o.o. (companies owned by Udovičić) has been ongoing for 10 years. As the state lost one of three suits, the county prosecution settled with the said companies for land that was defined as being co-owned in such a way that, of two plots, one went to the state with an area of approximately 0.7 hectares and the other, went to the said companies with an area of 6.8 hectares," the ministry said in a press release.

The Office of the County State Prosecutor referred the companies to the State Assets Ministry for the purpose of dissolving the co-ownership and that was processed in regular procedure as is the case with hundreds of similar cases of dissolution and in the most transparent way possible, the press release added.

"The dissolution finally resolved any further damage being caused to Croatia and enabled an income into the state budget in the amount of 5.092 million kuna," the ministry underscored, adding that Minister Marić never in any way influenced that decision.

The ministry added that the owners of the Valeta d.o.o. and Sikirica d.o.o. are not the owners of the companies with which Marić's son signed a lease agreement for the apartment he is living in.

More news about the state assets minister can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 9, 2019 - Public Administration Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) political secretary Lovro Kuščević resigned from both posts on Monday, and Prime Minister and HDZ president Andrej Plenković told reporters after a marathon meeting in the party's headquarters that he had accepted Kuščević's resignations.

"Minister Kuščević and I talked upon my return from Poland and over the weekend and today. He tendered his resignation as both public administration minister and as the HDZ's political secretary. As prime minister and party president, I accepted his resignation and... he will return to parliament," said Plenković.

"Given all the activities in recent weeks in public and the media, we estimated that a lot of damage is being done to him personally and, of course, to the government and the HDZ, and that there's no point anymore," Plenković said, adding that it was now up to Kuščević "to resolve all the doubts that appear in public and make his political activity possible."

"I'm a responsible politician. I've been in politics a long time," Kuščević said, adding that "it's clear to me that this negative perception in the media, the basis of all the unfounded attacks on me, represents a big burden on both the party and the government."

"I don't want to be a burden to this government, which is doing a good job and has excellent results, so that these results can be even better," Kuščević added.

The opposition and the government's coalition partners had been calling for Kuščević's resignation due to alleged scandals involving real estate on the island of Brač.

Last Thursday, the parliament added to the agenda a motion by the opposition, which collected 43 signatures, for a vote of no confidence in Kuščević.

The opposition claimed that while Kuščević was the head of Nerežišće municipality on Brač island, and later as minister, he showed that the protection of public interest was not important for him, that he continually put his own private property interests before public interest, and that he abused his position, gaining millions of kuna."

The Croatian People's Party (HNS), which recently proposed that Public Administration Minister Lovro Kuščević be replaced, welcomed his resignation on Monday and said that no one who used political influence for personal gain must hold a public office.

"For us in the HNS, it's a question of every politician's moral and political responsibility, while possible criminal accountability will be established by the relevant authorities," the HDZ's ruling coalition partner said in a press release.

The HNS said it would continue to talk with its coalition partners, starting at Tuesday's ruling coalition meeting, about relations with the HDZ in future and its own political priorities, such as raising salaries for 68,000 employees in elementary and high schools.

More news about former minister Kuščević can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 7, 2019 - Public Administration Minister Lovro Kuščević said on Saturday that his tendering his resignation, as demanded lately by the opposition and partners in the ruling coalition over his alleged involvement in property-related scandals, was a matter between him and the prime minister.

"The fate of any minister is in the hands of the prime minister," Kuščević, who has come under severe criticism from the media after it emerged that he was involved in a string of property-related scandals during his term as mayor of Nerežišća on the southern island of Brač, said in an interview with Nova TV.

The minister added that he would not hesitate a single moment if Prime Minister Andrej Plenković asked him to leave.

He would not give a straightforward answer when asked if PM Plenković had told him that he had caused harm to the government and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, as reported by the media.

"I have explained each of my actions to both the prime minister and the (HDZ) presidency, provided evidence, arguments and final court rulings," Kuščević said, adding that his conscience was clear.

The minister claims that the fake scandals of which he is being accused have primarily caused harm to him and his family.

"... the HDZ is a strong party. This government is doing a good job and its results are so good that fake scandals cannot harm the party," said Kuščević.

Asked about allegations of fraudulent behaviour on the part of his advisor Željko Holik in connection with land on Brač that has ended up owned by mysterious offshore companies, Kuščević said that he was unpleasantly surprised by media reports saying that Holik still maintained business relations with those companies.

"I will talk to him on Monday to hear his side of the story and then we will make a decision," said the minister.

The media have reported that Holik, Kuščević's main advisor at the Public Administration Ministry, has found himself in the centre of a scandal involving land in Nerežišća and that the companies he used to run significantly profited from changes to the physical plan of Nerežišća, which were adopted in 2015 and which Kuščević had allegedly pushed for as head of Nerežišća municipality.

The media have also reported that hundreds of thousands of square metres of land on the island of Brač have thus ended up owned by mysterious offshore companies under the pretext of a medical tourism project that was never implemented.

More news about the Kuščević affair can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 6, 2019 - State Assets Minister Goran Marić said on Friday, with regard to his role in the renovation of a church in a Zagreb parish, that except for satisfaction with helping realise a noble idea, he did not obtain any gain nor did he enable anyone else to obtain any gain and did not do anything that would be contrary to the highest ethical standards.

The State Assets Minister issued a press release saying that it was true that at the time when the renovation of the church, located in the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in Zagreb, was discussed, he was an office-holder and member of parliament but that at the meeting on the church's renovation he acted "exclusively as a parishioner."

"The meeting discussed designs for the renovation of the church and I did not directly participate in the discussions," Marić says, stressing that he also never attended talks on the financing of the renovation work, except giving symbolic financial contributions on a number of occasions, as did many other parishioners.

"It is true that I took part in talks with the then head of the Franciscan order regarding designs for the renovation of a monastery so that it could be used for the accommodation of students whose financial standing was poor. I considered that idea as something of great human and social value. I responded to it and was willing to personally help implement it," the minister claims.

He says that the Franciscan order owned a dilapidated apartment in downtown Zagreb that could not be sold due to the situation on the market at the time and that it was true that "the Scientia d.o.o. company bought the apartment and paid for it in full, which enabled the renovation."

"I stress that I participated financially in this project as well, in line with my finances. I especially emphasise that apart from human satisfaction at being able to help implement a noble idea, I did not obtain any gain nor did I make it possible for anyone else. Also, as an office-holder, I did not do anything that would go against the highest ethical standards," Maric says in the statement.

The news portal Index has reported that in March 2008, a meeting was held at which the renovation of the Franciscan Monastery of Our Lady of Lourdes was discussed and which was attended by the then prime minister Ivo Sanader, government ministers Marina Dropulić, Dragan Primorac and Božo Biškupić, and Mladen Barišić, a secretary at the Finance Ministry.

The meeting, held at the monastery, was also attended by Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, while the Franciscan order was represented by its head, Friar Željko Tolić, the head of the Franciscan monastery, Friar Frano Doljanik, and Goran Marić, at the time a member of parliament.

Index, which has published a number of articles analysing this case, cited Tolić as confirming that "Marić enabled the renovation of nine apartments and a kitchen for the Franciscan dormitory in Zagreb" and that the Franciscan order sold Marić its apartment in Zagreb's Zvonimirova Street in return.

"An agreement was reached and a contract signed with Mr Marić under which the order transferred a dilapidated and unlivable apartment in Zvonimirova Street to Marić in exchange for a financial compensation while he renovated nine apartments and a kitchen for humanitarian purposes for the order, to be used by the poor, namely destitute civilian students," the news portal quoted Tolić as saying.

The Marić family owned a company, called Scientia, specialising in professional, scientific and technical services, which was run by Marić's wife Marijana and which in 2011 reported a revenue of 50,000 kuna and a loss of 84,000 kuna.

According to Index, under the contract, Scientia bought the 101-square-metre apartment in Zvonimirova Street for 930,000 kuna (roughly 125,600 euros).

"The sales contract for the apartment, even though it was signed in mid-2011, went into force a year later, in 2012. Already in 2013, Scientia and its apartment in Zvonimirova Street were taken over by Marić's friend, businessman Zvonko Šarić. Even though Scientia had an apartment worth at least one million kuna and an additional 867,000 kuna in its account, the Marić couple transferred it to Šarić without any compensation. They literally gave it away," the portal says.

Four months later, Šarić sold the apartment in Zvonimirova Street for one million kuna to Šted Invest, a company where Marić was a director in the period from 2005 to 2008, when he withdrew because he entered the parliament as a deputy of the HDZ party, Index says.

It stresses that Marić's son Ante recently moved into a newly-built, 136-square-metre apartment in Zagreb's Veslačka Street, worth around 2.5 million kuna. The owner of that apartment, according to land books, is Veslačka Nekretnine, the daughter company of Šted Invest.

In an earlier comment on this, Minister Marić said that his son was a tenant in that apartment and that there was no conflict of interest in that case.

More news about the State Assets Minister can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 4, 2019 - The Croatian parliament on Thursday added to its agenda an opposition motion for a vote of no confidence in Public Administration Minister Lovro Kuščević.

The motion was signed by 43 deputies, Speaker Gordan Jandroković said.

The opposition has called for a vote of no confidence in Kuščević "because during his term as the mayor of Nerežišća municipality, and later as minister he has shown that he does not care about public interest and because he has put his private, property-related interests before public interest, abusing his powers to make personal gain worth millions of kuna."

The motion, put forward by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was supported also by deputies of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), the GLAS party, the group of independent members of parliament, SNAGA party MP Goran Aleksić, and MP Ivan Lovrinović of the Let's Change Croatia party.

The government has the duty to state its position on the motion within eight days from its being tabled. A no-confidence motion is voted on seven days from the day of its submission at the earliest and 30 days from its submission at the latest.

After a meeting of the ruling coalition partners - Branko Bačić of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Milorad Batinić of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) and Milorad Pupovac of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) - Pupovac expressed hope that a parliamentary debate on a vote of no confidence in Public Administration Minister Lovro Kuščević, moved by the opposition, would not have to be held.

Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Pupovac said that "someone should leave the government but I hope that won't be the coalition partners."

Pupovac, who is known for choosing his words carefully, thus gave reporters reason to conclude that Kuščević will eventually leave the government before the parliamentary debate and will either resign or be replaced by the prime minister.

"We have just had a meeting of the coalition partners and discussed ways to deal with everything that is behind us and that we are faced with. If people talk, it means that there is some kind of common ground for talks... We had an open and good discussion on how to proceed with regard to all outstanding issues," Pupovac said when asked if the ruling coalition was stable.

Asked who would give in, the HDZ or its coalition partners, Pupovac said, "This is not about giving in but about an agreement on how to function and find a solution."

The HDZ did not speak about Kuščević's political fate, the prime minister is in charge of that and we are agreed that that role belongs to him, he added. "As for the debate on a no-confidence vote in Kuščević, we hope it will not have to be held," he said, adding that "someone should leave the government and I hope that won't be the coalition partners."

Pupovac said that he was not insulted by Kuščević 's statement that a party with 2.5% voter support was not one to decide on the composition of the government, but that that was an insult to common sense.

Asked if his HNS party could leave the government, Batinić said that everything would be communicated to the prime minister, adding "See you next week after the meeting with the prime minister."

Social Democrat Peđa Grbin, whose party on Wednesday filed a motion for a vote of no confidence in Kuščević, said earlier today that the HDZ had assumed responsibility for Kuščević's behaviour.

"The HDZ yesterday supported a common thief thus sending the message that in Croatia it is permitted to steal while holding a public office," said Grbin. "We expect all members of parliament to say 'No' to Lovro Kuščević and to thievery. If the HNS will join in - good, but if not, it will only demonstrate consistency with everything it has been doing in the last two years since it joined this government of crooks," Grbin said.

He noted that many HDZ deputies admitted in private conversations that Kuščević's conduct was unacceptable. "Now they will have a chance to show if they practice what they preach," he added.

More news about the Kuščević affair can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 3, 2019 - Administration Minister Lovro Kuščević on Wednesday told reporters after being asked if he would step down that his assets have been transparently listed in his Declaration of Assets and that there have been no violations or murky dealings.

"All my assets are transparently presented in my Declaration of Assets and there have been absolutely no violations or suspicions of misconduct. I am staying on," Kuščević told reporters outside Government House after meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and Croatian Democratic Union (HDU) whip Branko Bačić.

He said that he would see on Thursday what the Social Democratic Party's motion for his removal would look like and whether there would be any serious criticism. "I think that once again that will be just another series of false accusations like those we have seen in the media recently," he said.

Asked if he was too heavy a burden on the government seeing that the Croatian People's Party, a partner in the ruling coalition, was calling for his resignation, Kuščević said that a party supported by 2.5 percent of the electorate "isn't one to decide on the composition of the Croatian government."

The parliamentary group of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) announced on Wednesday that in cooperation with other opposition parties it would file a motion for a vote of no confidence in Administration Minister Lovro Kuščević following his role in the numerous real estate scandals that have emerged recently.

"It is obvious that there is hardly any minister in this government who is not suspected of corruption and citizens have had enough. This is not a call for dismissal due to political responsibility but rather due to grave suspicion of corruption, abuse and violation of power. In any normal country, where the government is not corrupt, cases like this would have been forwarded to the state prosecutor long ago," SDP leader Davor Bernardić told a press conference.

He said that the SDP was continuing the fight against corruption with its own set of anti-corruption bills that will be presented soon.

"It will be interesting to see whether the coalition partners in government will side with the citizens and the interests of Croatia or they will side with Minister Kuscevic and the most corrupt government in Croatia's history," he underscored, alluding to the junior coalition partner the Croatian People's Party (HNS).

MP Saša Đujić (SDP) said that Kuščević was acting along the lines of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's statement "I can do want I want."

"This morning after the meeting in the government offices we expected Kuščević to address the media and say his term was over and he was leaving. However, just the opposite, not only did he not show any dose of self-criticism but he continued to behave arrogantly just as he and the government have behaved so far," Đujić said.

He said that Kuščević is suspected of unlawful construction, re-zoning, embezzlement and conflict of interest while at the same time leading attacks on the Conflict of Interest Commission and proposing reducing the Commission's powers.

More news about the administration minister can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 1, 2019 - State Assets Minister Goran Marić on Monday denied media allegations according to which his son had moved into a newly built Zagreb apartment worth almost 2.5 million kuna under suspicious circumstances, saying that his son was a tenant and that there was no conflict of interest in the case.

Asked why he had transferred his family business to his friend Zvonko Šarić even though the business had 800,000 kuna in its account and an apartment valued at one million kuna, Marić said that the family business had not existed for more than ten years and that it had been owned by his wife and son.

"They transferred their business interests in accordance with the law, the business wasn't given away, the stakes were transferred and that was their right and their business relationship," Marić said, adding that they did it so that he could enter politics without any burden.

He added that he had never been in conflict of interest nor used his political role to gain any benefit or favour anyone.

The Index news portal on Monday released an article stating that the way in which the minister's son, Ante Marić, recently moved into a new apartment in Zagreb valued at almost 2.5 million kuna, opened a number of questions.

The portal claims that Ante Marić lives in an apartment owned by the Veslačka Nekretnine real estate company, the daughter company of Šted Invest where Goran Marić was the director in the period from 2005 to 2008, when he left to enter the parliament as a deputy of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).

In a comment on alleged property-related irregularities concerning Minister Marić and Public Administration Minister Lovro Kuščević, the country's state chief inspector, Andrija Mikulić, said that those cases were not in the remit of the state inspectorate.

More news about the state assets minister can be found in the Politics section.