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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts Martina Dalić assessed on Monday that the revised Agrokor reports demonstrate the justification for the adoption of the law on systemically important companies and that without this law, Agrokor would be in bankruptcy.
“What we saw today is the final and definitive confirmation of how much the law has contributed to preserving the stability of the Croatian economy, as the entire Agrokor group was obviously ripe for bankruptcy,” said Dalić, adding that, for example, in August, industrial production in the processed food industry increased by 10 percent, which would not have been possible without this law and extraordinary administration.
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Today’s presentation of the revised consolidated financial statements of the Agrokor Group and Agrokor d.d., according to her, showed a huge difference from what Ivica Todorić has so far presented and signed in his financial statements. She assessed that the audit reports very clearly and unequivocally show that Todorić and the management of Agrokor are not only responsible for compiling the reports but also guilty for everything that happened and led the Agrokor group to the brink of bankruptcy.
“This huge difference and these extremely negative data clearly show why Ivica Todorić, together with the entire management (of Agrokor), requested the application of the Law on the Procedure of Extraordinary Administration in Systemically Important Companies on April 7,” Dalić said in a statement to the media on the occasion of the publication of the consolidated audit reports.
“In addition to what we all saw together: a blockade greater than 3 billion kuna, empty shelves of Konzum, livestock in agricultural companies that have no food, Ivica Todorić and the management obviously knew very well what the true state of their books was,” Dalić said.
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She added that this state was presented in a false and misleading manner to obtain loans, until the moment when that was no longer possible.
She stated that the financial reports presented today relate to the initial state, which, as she said, has been overcome thanks to the law on extraordinary administration, and that “the risk for the economy is behind us.”
She also said that after stabilizing the situation, the group is focused on reaching an agreement with creditors and that preserving the value ensured by the extraordinary administration contributes to the stability of the economy, being “the best guarantee and investment in successfully achieving the agreement.”
When asked whether the Tax Administration should have known about the irregularities, she replied that she does not know why the banks did not notice it, nor did the previous auditors.
When asked whether she can guarantee the survival of the “Lex Agrokor” in case of disputes regarding its constitutionality and legality, among other things, she replied that it is indisputable that the state has the right to protect its economy from high risks and that the law was prepared within the framework of constitutional principles, in accordance with constitutional provisions and the possibilities that the Constitution provides for responding in difficult situations that threaten the entire economy.
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She added that the law was written by people from the Ministry of Economy, led by her and other experts, and that it was not written by any private law firm.
When asked whether the claims of Ivica Todorić that he spoke with people from Agrokor back in January are accurate, she said that this is not true and that, according to her knowledge, there were no special contacts with the directors of Agrokor until the moment Todorić himself requested a meeting in the Government.
When asked whether Zdravko Marić, considering everything that could be heard today, can remain a minister, she replied that Marić is the Minister of Finance, a member of the government, and as such performs his job and that she has no further comments.
