It is not possible to forecast the outcome of arbitration proceedings in the Agrokor case, and it will depend on the plaintiff's arguments and evidence, State Attorney-General Zlata Hrvoj-Sipek said in Parliament on Wednesday.

“It is not possible to forecast the outcome of the arbitration case because the plaintiff is yet to file their complaint and submit the supporting evidence, but there is no doubt that this is a complex dispute that raises a number of questions,” Hrvoj-Sipek said at the start of a thematic session of the parliament’s Judiciary Committee, entitled “Agrokor and Croatia’s Legal Status”.

“Our response to the complaint and our strategy will depend on what the plaintiff will state in the complaint and the evidence they will submit,” she said.

The session of the parliamentary committee was prompted by a recent ruling by the High Criminal Court, which says that the expert financial report that represents the key evidence against former Agrokor owner Ivica Todoric and other suspects in the Agrokor case, is illegal. The expert report was made by the KPMG company, which was in a conflict of interest because it worked simultaneously for Agrokor and the Office of the State Attorney-General (DORH). The expert analysis cost €1.3 million and it took more than a year to make it.

The committee session was also prompted by the fact that the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has accepted a complaint filed by Todorić against Croatia in connection with Agrokor’s takeover.

Minister: State was not, is not owner of former Agrokor

Speaking before the Judiciary Committee, Justice and Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica noted the circumstances of 2017, when there was a risk that Agrokor would fold, leaving dozens of thousands of employees jobless. The entire process was completed at no cost to taxpayers and the emergency administration procedure was not launched by the government but by the conglomerate’s management, he said.

“The state was not and is not the owner of the former Agrokor, and nobody was stripped of their ownership rights either,” he stressed.

As regards the expert report in the Agrokor case, Malenica said that the Justice Ministry had secured funds for the expert analysis at DORH’s request, just as it did in all the other cases.

Asked by MP Stephen Nikola Bartulica (DP party) who was responsible for the failure of the expert financial analysis, Hrvoj-Sipek said that she did not take part in making decisions or selecting the expert witness and that an analysis into that is underway, but that the responsibility rests with her as the person in charge because she trusted her deputies and people working on the case.

She would not reveal the name of her deputy working on analysing the failed expert financial report, noting that a long period of time was in question in which many decisions were made and that the analysis would take time.

She also could not give a specific answer to SDP MP Pedja Grbin who wanted to know when the proceedings before ICSID would continue, noting that it generally takes three to six months. “We are collecting data and preparing,” she said.

Asked by MP Karolina Vidovic-Kristo (Determination and Justice party) about the manipulation of Agrokor’s balances and Todoric’s use of the Kulmerovi Dvori property where he lives, Hrvoj-Sipek said that several cases were still being investigated. “The police are conducting preliminary investigations in six cases. Fifteen indictments have been issued against 54 persons and they still have not been confirmed. Those cases are being worked on,” said Hrvoj-Sipek.