The largest German political weekly, the prestigious Der Spiegel, published an article claiming that former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader paved the way for the Bavarian bank Bayern LB to purchase Hypo Group Alpe Adria bank in Croatia.
More specifically, Der Spiegel claims that the connection between former Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber and Ivo Sanader was crucial for the transaction. The presence of political pressure was confirmed for Novi list by the governor of the HNB, Željko Rohatinski. – When BLB sent an official request for prior consent for more than 10 percent of the shares in Hypo bank, pressures began on the central bank, including unofficial pressure from then Prime Minister Sanader, stated HNB governor Željko Rohatinski, thus confirming the claims of the newspaper »Der Spiegel«. – In an informal conversation, the former prime minister emphasized the advantages if BLB took over Hypo bank in Croatia and the possible negative consequences if this did not happen. He mentioned that I received my second mandate at his initiative and that it is in his political interest for us to have good political relations with Carinthia and Bavaria, described Rohatinski. (www.novilist.hr)
