As part of the operation Bankomat, six individuals were arrested this morning out of a total of seven suspects for committing criminal offenses related to the management of credit risks at the Croatian Postal Bank arising from the approval of non-purpose loans, reports vecernji.hr.
The only remaining suspect, Josip Protega, is skiing in Austria, and the police will contact him today. If he does not return to Croatia immediately, he faces the issuance of an arrest warrant. In a telephone statement to HTV, Protega said he is not hiding and that he spoke with USKOK this morning. He refused to comment on the allegations and accusations against him and other individuals from HPB. He stated that he did not approve any loans based on political orders. According to unofficial information from jutarnji.hr, among those arrested are former board member Ivan Sladonja and finance director Mario Kirinić.
Josip Protega was dismissed in August of this year. Two months after his dismissal, the media reported that his quiet removal revealed that as the head of HPB, he had issued one billion kuna in risky loans. It is reportedly stuck in collection, raising questions about who will cover the losses and whether HPB can be saved. The former management of the Postal Bank allegedly distributed risky loans indiscriminately. A long list of debtors includes SMS, Spačva, Badel, PPK Valpovo, Đakovština, shipyards, and even the telecom operator H1. If most of the loans are not collected, the bank could lose up to one billion kuna. (vecernji.hr, jutarnji.hr, HRT)
