The owner and director of the Split company SMS, Srđan Mladinić, has had his investigative detention lifted after more than four months in custody along with other suspects for fraud related to Podravka.
The investigating judge of the Zagreb County Court, Krešimir Devčić, has released Mladinić from prison under precautionary measures, namely a ban on contact with three witnesses related to him, who have not yet been questioned by USKOK, Hina reports. Mladinić was arrested in the anti-corruption operation Manager on November 21, along with five other suspects who allegedly formed a criminal group that abused their position and authority, namely through various financial transactions, illegally attempting to use Podravka’s money to acquire a majority stake in the Koprivnica food company. This operation, which allegedly caused Podravka damage exceeding 250 million kuna, is publicly known as Spice.
Unlike Mladinić, the other five suspected managers remain in investigative detention due to the risk of influencing witnesses. These include former Podravka leaders Darko Marinc and Zdravko Šestak, two former board members of the company, Saša Romac and Josip Pavlović, and the director of the Varaždin company Fima, Milan Horvat. Marinc, Romac, and Horvat were given an additional two months of investigative detention in mid-February due to the risk of influencing witnesses, as USKOK has since proposed questioning about ten new witnesses from Croatia and eight from Hungary, who will be questioned through international legal assistance. (www.hrt.hr)
