Former Public Administration Minister Lovro Kuscevic of the ruling centre-right HDZ party on Thursday pleaded not guilty to abuse of office and rejected charges pressed against him by the anti-corruption office USKOK for the alleged damage done to the Municipality of Nerezisca when he was the mayor of that town on the Adriatic island of Brac. Pročitaj više

After the arraingment of Kuscevic, his ex-wife Zorana, his brother-in-law Ivica Zuvic, a local businessman Ante Marinovic, a former chairman of the Nerezisca council, Jaksa Goic, and the head of the town’s administration department, Svemir Obilinović, all six pleaded not guilty at the start of their trial at Split County Court.

It took 40 minutes for the prosecutor to present the 157-page indictment.

The investigation into Kuscevic was launched in September 2019 after he stepped down as Public Administration Minister amid media reports that in the period from 2008 to 2018, during his term as Nerezisca mayor, he had unlawfully obtained €513,000.

He allegedly obtained the money through fraudulent activities involving land plots, changes of the local zoning plan, bankruptcy proceedings, and resale of commercial properties.

A total of 80 witnesses are expected to take the stand during the trial.

The next hearing is scheduled for May 23.