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, June 15, 2019 - The Bosnian Justice Ministry on Friday received the Croatian Justice Ministry's request for the extradition of former Dinamo football club chief Zdravko Mamić and will forward it to the State Court to decide if there are grounds for the handover, Minister Josip Grubeša told Hina.

The request for the extradition of Croatia's most wanted fugitive will likely be delivered to the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday. Grubeša would not prejudge how the court would rule.

Croatia wants Mamić's extradition based on a second indictment upheld against him by the Osijek County Court. Croatia and BiH have an extradition agreement which went into force in 2012.

Mamić opposes the extradition. Earlier this week, after a warrant was issued for his arrest, the State Court ordered that his travel documents be seized and that he reports to the police station in Čitluk, but dismissed the request that he be placed in custody.

On May 21, the Osijek County Court upheld the second indictment which Croatia's USKOK anti-corruption office filed against Mamić and six others for defrauding Dinamo by 200 million kuna, ordering that he be placed in custody.

Last spring, the Osijek Municipal Court sentenced Mamić to 6.5 years in prison pending appeal. The day before the verdict was delivered, he took refuge at Medjugorje, BiH. He holds Croatian and Bosnian citizenship.

More news about Zdravko Mamić can be found in the Sports section.

ZAGREB, June 11, 2019 - The State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday rejected a request by Croatian authorities for the extradition and custody of former Dinamo football club mogul Zdravko Mamić after an international arrest warrant was issued for him.

The court, however, ordered that Mamić's travel documents be confiscated and that he be prohibited from leaving the country.

After a hearing, Mamić told reporters that the entire affair was politically motivated against him.

Mamić's Bosnian defence attorney, Zdravko Rajić, said that his client has Bosnia and Herzegovina citizenship and that he objects to being extradited to Croatia. "I don't want to forecast what will happen... It needs to be determined whether he was given a fair trial in Croatia. Mamić did not take one lipa nor one kuna from Croatia. There is no tax evasion, there isn't anything," Rajić told reporters.

According to procedure, the Bosnian State Court could have ruled for Mamić to be put in extradition custody pursuant to the international arrest warrant, but it did not do so. Croatia's Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković will have to send a request for Mamić's extradition and the Bosnian authorities will then take a position.

The next step requires the Bosnian State Court to determine the merit of the Croatian authorities' extradition request based on Mamić's criminal trial at Osijek County Court.

On 7 June, Osijek County Court ordered that a warrant be issued for the arrest of former Dinamo football club mogul Zdravko Mamić after the court on May 21 set investigative custody for Mamić. On May 21, that county court upheld a second indictment which the Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) filed against Mamić and six other people, charging them with defrauding Dinamo of HRK 200 million. Investigative custody was set for Mamić on the same day.

In June 2018 Mamić was convicted, pending appeal, to six and a half years in jail for siphoning around HRK 116 million from Dinamo. Just before the verdict was handed down, Mamić, who also holds Bosnia and Herzegovina citizenship, fled to that country.

More news about Zdravko Mamić can be found in the Sports section.

ZAGREB, June 7, 2019 - Osijek County Court on Friday ordered that a warrant be issued for the arrest of former Dinamo football club mogul Zdravko Mamić after the court on May 21 set investigative custody for Mamić, said source at the Osijek court which would send the necessary documentation to the Justice Ministry on Monday so that it could launch extradition proceedings against Mamić.

On May 21, the Osijek County Court upheld a second indictment which the Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) filed against Mamić and six other people, charging them with defrauding Dinamo of 200 million kuna. Investigative custody was set for Mamić on the same day.

After a motion to exempt Osijek County Court president Zvonko Vrban from the case was rejected as unfounded, a decision was made to continue with the proceedings in line with the indictment, the court said.

On Monday, the court will deliver all the necessary documents to the Justice Ministry to launch extradition proceedings against Mamić, Osijek County Court spokesman Miroslav Rožac said.

Based on the first of USKOK's three indictments against Mamić, in June 2018 Mamić was convicted, pending appeal, to six and a half years in jail for siphoning around 116 million kuna from the football club.

Just before the verdict was handed down, Mamić, who also holds Bosnia and Herzegovina citizenship, fled to that country. He now lives in Medjugorje.

The second indictment against Mamić also covers his brother Zoran and son Mario Mamić, as well as former Dinamo director Damir Vrbanović, football manager Nikky Arthur Vuksan and entrepreneurs Sandro Stipančić and Igor Krota.

Under that indictment, Mamić and the others are charged with having conspired, in the period from December 2004 to December 2015, to defraud Dinamo of more than 144 million kuna through fictitious contracts between Dinamo and several foreign companies and bills for the payment of non-existing services related to player transfers.

Under the contracts, Dinamo was obligated, without any grounds, to pay an additional amount of 7.35 million euro (55.8 million kuna).

More news about Zdravko Mamić can be found in the Sports section.

ZAGREB, May 24, 2019 - Justice Minister Drazen Bošnjaković said on Friday that the extradition of former Dinamo football club executive Zdravko Mamić from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Croatia could not be made conditional on the extradition of former Sarajevo judge Lejla Fazlagić to Bosnia and Herzegovina because those were two separate cases.

Bošnjaković said that the Justice Ministry would request Mamić's extradition after it obtains the necessary documentation from the court in Osijek which is in charge of the case.

The Osijek County Court earlier this week upheld a new indictment which the Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) filed against Mamić and six more people on the suspicion that they had defrauded Dinamo of 200 million kuna from 2004 to December 2015, when Mamić held a few executive posts in that Zagreb-based football club.

Asked if he considered it to be unlawful, as Mamić's defence claims, that the court had ruled on investigative custody for Mamić two times, Bošnjaković said that that was a question for experts, the prosecutorial authorities and the relevant courts.

Reporters also asked Chief State Prosecutor Dražen Jelenić if he knew where Mamić was, to which he said that the court that had issued the warrant for Mamić's arrest was in charge of the extradition procedure.

"After it is completed, the Justice Ministry will seek Mamić's extradition from Bosnia and Herzegovina," Jelenić said, adding that the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor was not involved in the procedure.

The Croatian media have been speculating lately that Mamić's extradition could depend not only on a decision by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina but also on whether Croatia would in turn extradite Lejla Fazlagić, a former Sarajevo judge suspected of abuse of powers, money laundering and fraud, who has been hiding in Croatia.

More news about Zdravko Mamić can be found in the Sports section.

ZAGREB, May 22, 2019 - The Croatian Justice Ministry will send Bosnia and Herzegovina a request for the extradition of former Dinamo football club executive Zdravko Mamić after the Osijek County Court forwards the necessary documentation to the justice ministry, Minister Dražen Bošnjaković said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting of the inner cabinet.

The Osijek County Court on Tuesday upheld a new indictment which the Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) filed against Mamić and six more people on the suspicion that they had defrauded Dinamo of 200 million kuna from 2004 to December 2015 when Mamić held a few executive posts in that Zagreb-based football club.

Asked about further steps in the case, Bošnjaković said that the Justice Ministry first had to obtain the extradition request and the relevant documentation from the Osijek court, after which the extradition request would be sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"After that, a Bosnia and Herzegovina court will decide if formal conditions for extradition have been met," Bošnjaković said, adding that the final decision would be made by the justice minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Asked if conditions for Mamić's extradition existed under an agreement Croatia had signed with Bosnia and Herzegovina to regulate the matter, Bošnjaković said that everything would be known once the ministry obtained the documentation and launched the procedure.

More news about Zdravko Mamić can be found in the Sports section.

ZAGREB, May 21, 2019 - Osijek County Court on Tuesday upheld a new indictment which the Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) filed against Zdravko Mamić and six more people on suspicion of having defrauded Dinamo of 200 million kuna from 2004 to December 2015 when he had held a few executive posts in that Zagreb-based football club.

The latest indictment refers to Zdravko Mamić's brother and son – Zoran and Mario Mamić – as well as to a former Dinamo director, Damir Vrbanović, football manager Nikky Artur Vuksan and entrepreneurs Sandro Stipančić and Igor Krota.

Under that indictment, Zdravko Mamić and the other suspects are charged with having conspired, in the period from December 2004 to December 2015, to defraud Dinamo of more than 144 million kuna through fictitious contracts between Dinamo and several foreign companies and bills for the payment of non-existing services related to player transfers. Under those contracts, Dinamo was also obliged to pay an additional amount of 7.35 million euro or 55.8 million kuna.

The USKOK deputy chief, Sven Mišković, said today that, in compliance with their bilateral agreement on extraditions, Croatia would ask Bosnia and Herzegovina to hand over Mamić, who is on the run in that country after he was already sentenced to six and a half years in jail for embezzlement of funds from the club in another case.

As soon as the Supreme Court confirms the investigative custody, the procedure for lodging a request for Mamić's handover can start.

The preparatory hearing is to be scheduled within next two months.

More news about Zdravko Mamić can be found in the Sports section.

ZAGREB, February 21, 2019 - The Zagreb county office of the Chief State Prosecutor (DORH) on Thursday filed a new indictment before Osijek County Court against Zdravko Mamić on suspicion of having defrauded Dinamo of 16.7 million kuna from 2002 to 2007, when he had performed several executive posts in that Zagreb-based football club.

The DORH office, which released the information about this indictment on its website earlier on Thursday, also recommends the joinder of this case with the ongoing proceedings against Mamić before the Osijek court.

Last June, the same court sentenced the former Dinamo football club boss and advisor to six and a half years in jail for embezzlement of funds from the club. His brother Zoran, former Dinamo director Damir Vrbanović and tax official Milan Pernar were also found guilty of the charges made by the USKOK anti-corruption office.

Mamić et all were found guilty on all counts in the case of siphoning approximately 116 million kuna from the Dinamo club and defrauding the state budget of about 12.2 million kuna in unpaid taxes and surtaxes.

His brother Zoran was sentenced to four years and 11 months, while Pernar was sentenced to four years and two months, and Vrbanović was sentenced to three years.

None of the four accused turned up at that sentence-hearing session in Osijek. Since the non-final verdict was handed down, Mamić has been in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as he has dual citizenship and refuses to come back to Croatia to start serving the sentence.

More news on Zdravko Mamić can be found in the News section.

ZAGREB, January 28, 2019 - A Zagreb court has dropped perjury charges against Croatian national football team player Dejan Lovren, Hina was told on Monday. Lovren, who currently plays with Liverpool FC, was charged with giving false testimony at the trial of the former boss of Dinamo Zagreb, Zdravko Mamić, and another three defendants.

The indictment was issued by the Osijek County Prosecutor's Office on 19 September 2018 and was dismissed on 25 January.

The ruling may be appealed within three days of its receipt.

According to unofficial information, the indictment was dropped for the same reasons as in the perjury case of another member of the national football team, Luka Modrić. In his case the same court found that there was no probable cause to try him.

Prosecutors argued that on 1 September 2017, at a hearing in the trial of Zdravko Mamić and others, Lovren consciously lied under oath regarding his transfer from Dinamo Zagreb.

According to court records, an annex was signed to a contract entitling Lovren to 50 percent of the compensation of his transfer from Dinamo Zagreb to French side Lyon in 2010. The rest was set aside for Dinamo.

As part of his testimony, Lovren claimed the annex was inserted before his transfer to Lyon, but prosecutors alleged that the annex was signed after the defender's move and then backdated.

More news on the Zdravko Mamić case can be found in the Sports section.

It is now official that nothing will come of the Zdravko Mamić extradition to the Republic of Croatia.