Zagreb County Court is expected to deliver a ruling on Wednesday in the trial against the former head of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) Nadan Vidosevic, and his accomplices, indicted for embezzlement of money from the Chamber in the scandal dubbed Remorker five years ago.

The USKOK anti-corruption office pressed charges against Vidosevic and the eight other defendants in July 2015, and the trial started in January 2017.

Vidosevic’s long-standing associate Zdenka Peternel was also accused in the case as was Josipa Mladinov, Jasna Mikic and Jadranka Ivcic, who have all pleaded not guilty.

Four other co-defendants pleaded guilty prior to the trial and were convicted after plea-bargaining with the prosecution.

Charges were later dropped by the USKOK anti-corruption office against Ivcic, a former vice president of the Supervisory Board of the Kras confectionery company, who was suspected of procuring an excavator to work on Vidosevic’s private property in Gorski Kotar.

The four others, who admitted to siphoning millions of kuna from HGK, were mostly sentenced to community work after plea bargaining with the prosecution. They were the key actors in the Remorker embezzlement case – Igor Premilovac, who admitted to having issued fake invoices from his Remorker company and to money laundering. Davor Komericki connected Vidosevic with the chain to siphon HGK money.

Vesna Rodic and Jasna Mrakocic-Grubic admitted to helping Vidosevic siphon money from HGK by allegedly buying artworks for HGK.

Another segment of the Remorker case led to the Hrvatske Autoceste motorway management company implicating former HDZ minister and Zadar mayor, Bozidar Kalmeta, however, he was acquitted in September 2019 pending appeal.

Indictment dates back to July 2015

In July 2015,USKOK proposed that assets equivalent to the HRK 33.4 million that was allegedly siphoned be confiscated from Vidosevic.

However, a new expert analysis has shown that Vidosevic acquired 26 properties and 444 works of art, worth HRK 22.3 million, legally and that property worth only HRK 9.2 million remains suspicious.

In mid-December 2020, USKOK withdrew its motion to expand the confiscation of Vidosevic’s assets after it was determined that the discrepancy between his income and expenditure was smaller than the value of the assets he was charged with having illegally gained. If he is found guilty, the state will not confiscate the suspicious amount, instead, it will be reimbursed to HGK and Kras for the value of the purchased excavator.

Vidosevic has denied all the charges and claims the Komericki laundered his own money via Premilovec and that apart from their testimonies the prosecution does not have any evidence to support the charges against him.

Judge Zdravko-Majerovic will deliver the court’s ruling at 2 pm on Wednesday.