The Croatian State Attorney-General Ivan Turudic decided on Tuesday that the case of the scandal surrounding collusion in the awarding of hospital equipment falls under the jurisdiction of the anti-corruption authority USKOK and not the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).

After the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) announced last Friday that it had ordered the arrest of Health Minister Vili Beros, neurosurgeon Krešimir Rotim from the KBC Sestre Milosrdnice hospital and businessman Sasa Pozder, the EPPO informed the public that it had already opened an investigation against Beros and seven other suspects in the same case of manipulation of tenders for hospital equipment.

Differences in the investigations

According to media reports, the EPPO investigation concerns Croatian businessman Hrvoje Petrac and his two sons Nikola and Novica. Hrvoje Petrac and his son Nikola are still outside the reach of the Croatian authorities, while Novica returned to Croatia on Monday evening and handed himself in to the police.

After the arrest of the now former minister Beros, doctor Rotim and businessman Pozder, the Attorney-General’s Office (DORH) immediately demanded that EPPO hand over its file in the case to DORH, while EPPO demanded that it take over the entire case from DORH.

In response, Turudic said that he would soon decide on the overlap of jurisdiction.

On Saturday, an investigating judge at the Zagreb District Court ordered the pre-trial detention of five suspects in connection with the corruption case of former Health Minister Beros at the request of the EPPO.

Beros had already been remanded in custody on Saturday at the request of USKOK. The spokesman of the court, Kresimir Devcic, confirmed to the Croatian news agency Hina on Saturday that EPPO had requested the pre-trial detention of Hrvoje Petrac and his sons Novica and Nikola.

Illegal profit of almost half a million euros

Consequently, only Tomo Pavic, a regional head of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund in Krapina, and Goran Roic, director of the children’s hospital in Zagreb, were taken to Remetinec prison from this group.

The suspects were detained because of the risk of witness tampering and repeat offences, while the members of the Petrac family are also at risk of absconding as they are not available to the Croatian authorities.

On the other hand, Beros and Pozder were remanded in custody at the request of the USKOK, while the third suspect, neurosurgeon Rotim, was released from police custody.

The USKOK accuses the three suspects of manipulating public tenders in order to secure contracts totalling 1.4 million euros for Pozder’s company with state hospitals. The company made an illegal profit of at least €494,518 by inflating the prices of robotic microscopes.

EPPO investigates eight people

EPPO alleges that Beros received kickbacks to authorise the procurement of surgical microscopes at unjustifiably higher prices and that it also arranged for funds to be granted for public tenders.

The EPPO office in Zagreb has opened investigations against eight individuals, including former minister Beros and the directors of two hospitals in Zagreb, as well as two companies on suspicion of accepting and giving bribes, abuse of position and authority and money laundering.

EPPO claims that the manipulation of the public procurement procedure enabled the suspected company, the bidder in this procurement procedure, to make illegal profits and that “the surgical microscopes were purchased at a price unjustifiably increased by €619,582.64 to the detriment of the Croatian state budget.”