80-year-old businessman from the Medjimurje region, Djuro Horvat, died on Wednesday, his lawyer Ante Zupic confirmed.

Horvat was one of the five suspects in the Rijeka waste sorting plant scam.

The other suspects include the former head of the City of Rijeka Department for Utilities, Irena Milicevic, the former director of the Cistoca Rijeka city sanitation company, Jasna Kukuljan, business adviser Eddy Ropac and Cakovec-based businessman Darko Zagar.

The five were charged by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) for embezzling EU funds as part of a project to build a waste sorting plant outside the northern Adriatic city of Rijeka.

The proceedings against Horvat have been cancelled due to his death.