The Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) has issued another indictment in connection with Dragan Kovacevic, a former CEO of the state-run oil pipeline operator JANAF, on suspicion that he and businessman Kreso Petek were involved in bid-rigging and corruption.

USKOK  stated on Friday that it had issued an indictment against two men for bribery, favouritism and bid-rigging in JANAF’s public procurement procedures, but it did not reveal the identities of the indictees.

Bid manipulation and rigged specifications

According to the indictment, from mid-2025 to mid-2019 Kovacevic demanded that Petek provided him with kickoffs and that he covered his private costs, including the purchase of suits, in return for the selection of Petek’s company Elektrocentar Petek in JANAF’s public procurement applications.

Also, Kovacevic gave insider information to Petek concerning planned calls for procurement and business contracts with JANAF, thus tailoring requests to this bidder and choosing it as a preferred bidder.

Also, Kovacevic saw to it that Petek should be given advance payments in a fast-track procedure.

Indictment against Kovacevic and six others for graft upheld in mid-May

In mid-May 2023, Zagreb County Court upheld the indictment against Kovacevic and six others for taking and giving bribes and fixing €13.3 million worth of contracts in the state-owned JANAF.

The other accused in this case are entrepreneurs Kreso Petek, Edo Seifried, Ivan Siric and Vatroslav Sablic, and former JANAF executives Vlado Zoric and Vladimir Vrbanc.

The USKOK anti-corruption office contends in that indictment issued in 2022 that Petek gave Kovacevic and his associates €1 million so that his firm Elektrocentar Petek could get contracts worth almost €8.63 million. Kovacevic is also accused of getting two flats from entrepreneurs for whose companies he arranged contracts worth millions.

In one more case concerning the ex-JANAF director, he, Petek, Nova Gradska mayor Vinko Grgicand a former mayor of Velika Gorica, Drazen Barisic, are indicted for bid-rigging in JANAF too.