A dozen state officials and business people, including senior officials in Croatia's ministries of economy, agriculture, and public administration, were arrested on Friday morning on suspicion of corruption following a sweeping investigation by the government's anti-corruption bureau.

The coordinated police operation, which began early on Friday morning at various locations in the capital Zagreb, southern city of Split, and the towns of Knin and Gracac in the Dalmatian hinterland, related to an investigation of alleged bribery involving the development of a 1.8 billion kuna (€240 million) wind power plant near Knin.

The arrested suspects include senior Public Administration Ministry official and former Knin Mayor, Josipa Rimac; sebior official of the Economy Ministry, Ana Mandac; secretary at the Agriculture Ministry, Ruzica Njavro; and the head of the Gracac municipality, Natasa Turbic – all of whom are political appointees and members of the ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party.

CEO of the state-owned forest management company, Hrvatske Sume, Krunoslav Jakupcic, and director of the company’s Split branch, Ivan Melvan, were also arrested as part of the probe, as local media reported that Hrvatske Sume owns at least some of the land near Knin where the project – advocated in the past by local HDZ mayor Josipa Rimac – was built.

The wind park was described by local media as one of the country’s two most valuable infrastructure projects in recent years, second only in value to the major Peljesac Bridge which is under construction by a Chinese company China Road and Bridge Corporation.

The farm near Knin was built by a company based in the small town of Stupnik near Zagreb, a branch of a larger company owned by a Bosnian businessman. According to Jutarnji List daily, Hrvatske Sume had found irregularities in wind farm construction and issued the company with a negative report.

The daily alleges that Rimac is suspected of taking a €45,000 bribe from Basic and Dragan Stipic, board member at Lager, to influence senior managers at Hrvatske Sume to bury the negative report and secure permits for the continuing construction.

Jakupcic’s Attorney said on Friday that the suspects were expected to be questioned at the Uskok anti-corruption office later that afternoon. It remains unknown how all of the arrested suspects are connected with the Knin project.

The arrests which involved several officials of the HDZ party come at a sensitive time for party leader, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, as the country is set for an early election in July.

“If the investigation proves that someone had committed a crime, they should answer for it, regardless of who they are and what party they’re in. No one is above the law and our message is clear: we must put an end to corruption,” Plenkovic said.

Later on Friday, the government had dismissed Rimac and Mandac from their positions.