The former director-general of the Croatian national broadcaster HRT, Kazimir Bacic, was indicted on Thursday for influence peddling and bribery in a case dubbed "Gardens of Light".

Investigators from the Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) allege that Bacic, acting on behalf of businessman Milan Loncaric, took a bribe of €50,000 and handed it over to the late Zagreb mayor Milan Bandic for the construction project nicknamed Gardens of Light. As a reward for his role as an intermediary, Bacic is believed to have been given an apartment worth (€133,300) in central Zagreb.

Bacic was arrested on suspicion of corruption and influence peddling in late June 2021, and in mid-July he was relieved of his duties as Director-General of the HRT public broadcasting service.

According to the indictment, Bacic lobbied with the late mayor Bandic to ensure that the regulations imposed by the conservation department of the city administration to protect listed buildings could be circumvented so as to facilitate the implementation of the projects promoted by businessman Milan Loncaric.