Entrepreneurs Owe the City of Rijeka 200 Million Kuna

The total claims of the City of Rijeka from business entities on various grounds amount to approximately 200 million kuna, which is the value equivalent to the issuance of municipal bonds used to construct the swimming pool complex in Kantrida.

While the city budget struggles with every lipa, leading to salary cuts for city administration employees, reductions in public needs, and programs in sports and culture, a quarter of the annual budget remains uncollected, and it is highly likely that much of that money will remain beyond the reach of the city treasury, even though the City of Rijeka has initiated enforcement proceedings against a number of business entities.

Among the 20 largest debtors, the record holder is »3. maj« as two companies operating within that holding, »3. maj« Shipyard and »3. maj« Motors and Cranes, owe 14.6 million kuna. The City of Rijeka has signed an installment repayment agreement with the Rijeka shipyard, but on several occasions, Mayor Vojko Obersnel has promised not to insist on forced collection of the debt so as not to jeopardize salary payments at »3. maj«. The strongest opposition party, HDZ, has called for the debts to be written off, but the stance of the city authorities is that this will not be done until it is clear who the new owner will be. The company Austrograd, which built the business-residential center Zagrad with an underground garage and the underground garage Stari grad, owes about 5.2 million kuna. The City of Rijeka explains that an enforcement order has been requested for the seizure of funds for the municipal contribution debt and that it has been included in the order of collection at the bank due to a lack of funds in the account, and an enforcement procedure has also been initiated on the properties owned by Austrograd.

– For the collection of claims based on municipal fees, monument rents, and company or name taxes, a forced collection procedure has been initiated by issuing an enforcement decision, and for the occupation of public areas, by sending a blank promissory note for collection, they state in the City of Rijeka. Following the amount of debt, seven companies in bankruptcy follow against which the City of Rijeka has been conducting legal proceedings for years. From Vulkan diba in bankruptcy, 4.2 million kuna is being claimed, from Torpedo four million kuna, »Slavica« owes 3.8 million kuna, Primorje 3.8 million kuna, Trgovačko Opatija 2.9 million kuna, Vior 2.1 million kuna, and Modest 1.8 million kuna. Regarding »live« companies, Magma owes about 1.7 million kuna, and the City of Rijeka has signed an installment repayment agreement with that company. An enforcement procedure has been initiated against Dira gradnje due to a debt of 1.2 million kuna for the lease of city land.

– Between the City of Rijeka and Dira-gradnje d.o.o., two lease agreements for city land have been concluded, both at the Pehlin location. Due to the forced collection of the debt and the transfer of possession of the land, an enforcement procedure is underway. For the collection of claims based on municipal fees, monument rents, and company or name taxes, a forced collection procedure has been initiated by issuing an enforcement decision, and for the occupation of public areas, by proposing enforcement before the competent court, they claim in the city administration. Four more enforcement procedures have been initiated against companies that each owe around one million kuna, namely Adria parking, Teri Crotek, Agregat, Reful, while a settlement agreement for installment repayment has been concluded with the company Vrdoljak d.o.o. for a debt of about 900,000 kuna.

It is certainly worth highlighting Teri Crotek, owned by Mate Markanović, as it is a business empire acquired, among other things, through dealings with »3. maj«. One of Markanović’s companies collaborates with the City of Rijeka in the construction of a hotel and marina at the location of a small shipyard in Kantrida. An indictment has also been raised against Markanović and his associates for tax evasion. (www.novilist.hr)