The Croatian financial services regulator Hanfa confirmed on Monday they had launched "supervision" over the Allianz ZB pension fund management group, over their decision not to invest in the Fortenova Group, state agency Hina reported, carrying a press release from Hanfa.

More correctly, Hanfa is thought to be investigating Allianz fund’s decision to withdraw from buying a stake in the food and retail Fortenova group last week.

EU sanctions against Russia following its invasion on Ukraine, adopted in July this year, allowed for EU companies with stakes owned by Russia’s Sberbank to be sold by the end of October. Although there were two attempts to sell the Sberbank-held 43 percent stake in the company – first to a Hungarian company, and then to a grouup of local pension funds – the transaction eventually failed because Allianz withdrew from the deal.

In the meantime, Sberbank reported that it had sold its stake in Fortenova to an Arab investor from Dubai, Saif Alketbi.

“The transaction is legally questionable as it has not been given the necessary regulatory approvals, given that Sberbank is among the entities subject to the sanctions against Russia,” state news agency Hina said.

On Monday, the financial regulator Hanfa issued a vague press release announcing what sounds like a probe into Allianz and their decision to pull out from the deal at the very last moment.

“We cannot provide any details at the moment, but we can confirm that direct supervision of Allianz ZB d.o.o. has begun and is ongoing, regarding the decision by the Supervisory Board concerning investing in the Fortenova Group. After determining all the circumstances, Hanfa will inform the competent state authorities about the results of the procedure,” Hanfa said.