Dalić admitted she wrote lex Agrokor, Ramljak regrets hiring his former company

At the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee for Economy on Thursday dedicated to Agrokor, which lasted four and a half hours, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Martina Dalić stated that she is the main author of lex Agrokor, while the Government’s extraordinary commissioner for Agrokor Ante Ramljak said that “looking from today’s perspective, he regrets hiring his former company Texo Management as a consultant.”

This is the company from which Ramljak came to Agrokor as a commissioner, and which advises him for about 250 thousand kuna per week.

– If I were in your place, I would think – he set this up for himself, Ramljak replied to the question from Committee Chairman Darinko Kosor (HSLS) about the ethics of that engagement.

>>>Dalić: I consider myself responsible for all Agrokor employees receiving their salaries

– From today’s perspective, I regret it, but let’s not forget what was happening and I did not have time to hire a consultant under the Public Procurement Act, the procedure is not perfect, I made a million mistakes. They sent me to a nuclear power plant before a disaster, asking ‘Saint Ante’ to save it and then asking how much I spent on ‘cooling the core’. I regret that perception and in your place, I would think: he took money for himself. I am ready to bear all consequences, said Ramljak.

He also announced that in about fifteen days he will seek an extension of the settlement deadline for three months, so if the Commercial Court approves the request, the new date for the settlement would be July 10. He emphasized that the settlement and the direction they are going are not endangered.

Dalić: I am the main author of the law, all provisions are written in my words or at my request

– I am the main author of the law, all provisions are written in my words or at my request, Dalić said in response to a question from SDP’s Joško Klisović about who wrote lex Agrokor.

>>>Ramljak: I admit, I am guilty, I made a million mistakes

– I possess unique experience in both the private and public sectors, knowledge and academic titles that qualify me as the most suitable person this Government has to deal with this problem, said Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy Dalić. She added that she consulted a number of experts of various profiles, from lawyers to financiers.

In response to a question from SDP’s Saša Đujić, she clarified that extraordinary commissioner Ramljak was among those she consulted in preparing the law because he is also one of those who have experience in both finance and the public sector.

>>>Consultant costs since the adoption of lex Agrokor have reached almost 240 million kuna

She also stated that lex Agrokor is a version of the Italian law written due to the collapse of Parmalat and Alitalia, and that it was obtained by Tomislav Šavorić, but clarified that she has no connection with him.

Dalić also dismissed speculations that Borislav Škegro is “in the story,” reminding that Škegro was Deputy Prime Minister for seven years, that she was once his assistant in the Ministry of Finance, and that she was appointed to that position by President Dr. Franjo Tuđman. She emphasized that while writing the so-called lex Agrokor, she had no contacts with the Knighthead fund nor did that fund influence its content in any way.

Deputy Prime Minister Dalić clearly denied speculations that foreign funds and consultants wrote the law, stating that 78 percent of the articles correspond to the Bankruptcy Act, while 11 articles introduce novelties, including that financiers receive the status of the oldest claims, and that at the request of bankers, because, she emphasized, “no sane person will finance a company on the verge of bankruptcy.”

>>>Plenković on sanctioning Ramljak: About that later, the ethical aspect of consultant fees bothers me

Regarding the removal of the provision on the conflict of interest of the commissioner, she explained that in the Italian law, the minister supervises the extraordinary administration process, while in our case, it is done by the Commercial Court, while the rights of the Government’s commissioner are identical to those of the bankruptcy administrator.

Gordan Maras from SDP claimed that lex Agrokor was written by people from ‘Škegrin’s incubator’ – Ramljak, Šavorić, and Tomislav Radić, and that they subsequently received lucrative jobs in Agrokor. Maras further asked whether Toni Smrček participated in writing the law, and whether Deputy Dalić is ready to resign.

>>>Beveridge: The removal of Ramljak would jeopardize the restructuring process of Agrokor

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister Dalić responded to him that the crisis in Agrokor is being well managed and that it is quite difficult to hide behind the crisis, and that she understands that it is frustrating for him as an SDP member because there are “very few laws that have had a stabilizing effect on the economy like this one.”

Ramljak: Agrokor did not get into trouble because of its companies, but because of Todorić who over-indebted the group

In response to a question from HDZ’s Darko Horvat, Ramljak said that Agrokor did not get into trouble because of its good companies, like Konzum, but because of the owner who over-indebted the group with loans from banks and spent money on assets that are not necessary for operational business. “These were private expenses of the Todorić family, they spent other people’s money borrowed from banks on everything and anything,” emphasized Ramljak.

>>>The extraordinary administration of Agrokor withheld information about renewing the lease of stores for the next 12 years

Representatives asked whether consultants would receive any percentage for a successfully achieved settlement, and extraordinary commissioner Ramljak said that Alix Partners, under the contract, in the case of a good job, has a bonus of 8 million euros, while Texo Management as a subcontractor receives a certain percentage of that.

Plan to reach a settlement with all creditors in the next three months

He announced that the plan is to reach a settlement with all creditors in the next three months, aiming for everything to be completed by mid-June when a settlement with 5,700 creditors will be held. Ramljak is confident that the job will be successfully completed if they have peace.

He emphasized that cooperation with suppliers is at the highest level and that there are no problems with them. He noted that “lawsuits are mentioned and there is no need to be afraid of them. There will certainly be many, but a lawsuit does not mean a verdict,” emphasized Ramljak, adding that he is confident that lawsuits “will not cost the budget a penny.”

>>>Petrov: If the Prime Minister knew, he should resign

He also stated that he does not believe that he is in a conflict of interest because of the consultants, his friends, nor that he favored them. He emphasized that “this story was not devised by the trio Škegro, Dalić, and Ramljak because then they would be geniuses,” although he added, “Škegro is known and he is a genius.”

Ramljak also reported that Agrokor’s creditors are demanding that additional consultants be hired, costing 10 to 15 million euros. He estimated that the company, with the help of its own resources, could repay its debts in five years and announced that the temporary administration will incorporate safeguards so that future owners do not sell off the company after the process is completed.

>>>Tašler: Small shareholders have been left out, but Todorić is the one who loses the most

At the end of the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee for Economy, which was not lacking in tension, Committee Chairman Darinko Kosor announced that they would periodically convene on the topic of Agrokor.