The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zagreb brought charges on Thursday against former Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) Minister Hrvoje Vojkovic and his colleague Goran Lucev, who were arrested and released at the beginning of March.

The EPPO announced, without revealing their identities, that the two were charged with subsidy fraud and forgery of documents following an investigation into three projects co-financed by the EU, including the construction of a greenhouse.

Between April 2020 and the end of December 2022, Vojkovic allegedly submitted three applications to the Croatian Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development in order to receive non-repayable financial support for certain projects, including investments in the equipment of tourist facilities, the planting of an olive grove and the construction of a greenhouse for vegetables.

All three projects with a total value of almost €650,000 – for which almost €370,000 in grants were requested – were co-financed 85% by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and 15% by the Croatian state budget.

False claims

According to the evidence, Vojkovic falsely claimed three times to an official of the Ministry of Agriculture that he was growing tulips on his company’s land in order to fulfil the prescribed tender conditions, including the appropriate economic size of the company. Tulips, which belong to the category of flowers and ornamental plants, would have sufficient economic value as required by the agency’s tenders.

It is understood that Vojkovic attached certificates of adequate economic size to his three grant applications and also submitted illegally obtained invoices and other documents that he had prepared together with another suspect (an employee of another company) to support the false claim that he met the eligibility requirements.

However, during the administrative processing of the submitted applications, the agency suspected fraudulent activity and decided not to disburse the non-refundable grants to the defendant.

Vojkovic was arrested on 29 February and released the following day after admitting to all charges.