The Zagreb County Court today confirmed the revised indictment against former Varaždin mayor Ivan Čehok for favoring entrepreneur Davor Patafta, allegedly causing Varaždin damage of at least 49.5 million kuna.
The council of judge Jasna Smiljanić, which returned the indictment to USKOK for revision in May of this year, announced the decision at this morning’s hearing.
The indictment was fully confirmed after USKOK provided a more detailed explanation of why they believe that Čehok, Varaždin entrepreneur Patafta, and others conspired to commit a criminal offense.
In the earlier indictment, there was also a disputed construction expert assessment. USKOK, as it is known, was not satisfied with the findings of the first assessment, so they conducted a second one, after which the court requested that the findings be aligned and that another assessment be conducted during the supplementary proceedings.
– The judge stated that there will be plenty of time during the trial to clarify all these issues – said Patafta’s attorney Ante Madunić to Hina, convinced that if “the law is respected at all,” the outcome of the proceedings will be an acquittal. He is also pleased that a dispute will soon begin, as blocking Patafta’s companies could completely destroy production.
In addition to Čehok and Patafta, the indictment raised at the end of last year also charges Narcisa Huljev, Tomislav Kezelj, Hrvoje Vojvoda, and three of Patafta’s companies. USKOK claims that they conspired due to abuse of position and authority, meaning that they assisted or incited these criminal acts.
Čehok is accused of favoring Patafta and his companies in dealings with the city and city-owned companies from the end of 2007 to mid-2011, during which Varaždin was allegedly damaged by at least 49.5 million kuna. During this period, USKOK claims that at least 35.8 million kuna was paid to Patafta.
Due to this scandal, Čehok resigned from his mayoral position in July of last year from the investigative prison in Remetinec, where he spent more than a month and a half. He was released on bail worth 2.6 million kuna.
Patafta, on the other hand, provided bail worth 12 million kuna, which is one of the largest in the history of the Croatian judiciary.
