Vukovar-Srijem County Prefect Damir Dekanic and four other suspects are expected to be released from 30-day investigative custody today after being remanded on 16 March.

Given that USKOK corruption prosecutors did not apply for an extension of custody, the suspects are expected to be released today, the Osijek County Court said.

Prosecutors and police suspect that Dekanic caused a traffic accident on 17 April 2022 while driving a government car under the influence of alcohol. He lost control of the vehicle, skidded off the road and hit the front end of a car owned by a 47-year-old woman, which was parked outside her house, and the fence of the house.

To avoid liability and negative publicity, he allegedly arranged with the woman not to call the police and that he would compensate her for the damage done. However, the police were alerted by an application installed in the government car and by eyewitnesses.

Dekanic then called his cousin, Kresimir Bicanic, to come to the crash site and confirm to the police that he was driving the car and that Dekanic was in the passenger seat. Meanwhile, the assistant shift commander at the Zupanja Border Police Station recorded in the database only that a traffic accident with property damage had occurred without specifying that it was caused by a drunken Dekanic.

The police officers who arrived at the scene obeyed Dekanic as a person of authority and did not carry out an on-site investigation as required by rules, according to USKOK.

In addition to Dekanic, the investigation covered the 47-year-old woman, Dekanic’s cousin, an assistant shift commander at a local police station, a policewoman on patrol, and a policeman from the on-site investigation team.

The suspects are accused of influence peddling, abuse of official position and authority, and adding and abetting in these crimes.