A court in Rijeka upheld the prosecution's indictment against 12 former executives of the Uljanik and 3. Maj shipyards on Wednesday. Prosecutors allege that they took part in white-collar crimes and embezzlement, and by doing so caused financial damage to the tune of 900 million kuna (€120 million).

A former member of the Uljanik management board, Marinko Brgic, was named as the first defendant. Together with another 11 former executives of the heavily subsidized shipyards, Brgic has been charged with “abuse of trust in business operations” and also “one count of state aid fraud,” state agency Hina reported.

The initial indictment was submitted in March 2020. Following the court’s approval of the indictment, a timetable for hearings have to be set, before the trial begins in earnest. Hina did not report when that might happen.