President Zoran Milanovic said on Wednesday that he would pardon anyone convicted of leaking information and found guilty under the so-called Lex AP. This came after news that the Zagreb State Attorney's office is investigating a data leak from an EPPO investigation involving former minister Vili Beros.

“I spoke out and warned about this, and now it is happening: (State Attorney-General Ivan) Turudic is controlling and obstructing the investigation to protect the autocracy of Andrej Plenkovic,” Milanovic wrote in a Facebook post.

Instead of investigating corrupt ministers involved in what he called a “criminal enterprise”,” Turudic, Milanovic continued, is targeting those who expose corruption.

“Although I have never exercised the constitutional power to pardon convicts during my term in office, let there be no doubt – I will pardon anyone convicted under the Lex AP,” he said.

Investigation into media reports

The Municipal State Attorney’s office in Zagreb announced on Wednesday that it was investigating the leaking of information from an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) against former Health Minister Vili Beros.

The investigation follows media reports describing communications between several suspects in connection with the procurement of overpriced medical equipment.

The State Attorney’s office stated on its website that it is conducting an investigation on suspicion of unauthorised disclosure of confidential investigation material. The aim is to identify the perpetrator and gather evidence necessary for a criminal judgement.

Turudic, who assigned the case not to the EPPO but to the Croatian Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK), told Croatian television on Tuesday that the State Attorney’s office is tasked with finding out how the information from the EPPO investigation was leaked to the public.