The President of the Republic’s advisor for internal policy, Mate Radeljić, did not appear on Monday to testify in the trial of former director of the Tax Administration and SDP parliamentary representative Nada Čavlović Smiljanec, who is accused of causing the state a loss of 9.5 million kuna by halting the collection of tax debt from Osijek entrepreneur Željko Biloš.
From recordings that were previously listened to in the courtroom, it appears that Radeljić, at that time the head of Osijek Television, frequently called Biloš in 2012 regarding the resolution of the debt of his company OLT, which led to Biloš, Čavlović Smiljanec, and former head of the Osijek Tax Administration Ružica Kovačević finding themselves in the defendant’s dock.
>>>Secret Uskok Recordings in the Čavlović Smiljanec and Biloš Trial
In the recordings, Radeljić informs Biloš about whom he has spoken with regarding the rescue of Biloš’s company, including SDP MEP Biljana Borzan, whom Radeljić asked to help preserve jobs in Osijek. She testified in March at this trial and confirmed that Radeljić had called her three times. Among the witnesses to be questioned during the proceedings is the president of HNS, Ivan Vrdoljak, and former finance minister Slavko Linić has already testified.
Uskok claims that Čavlović Smiljanec, using her authority as the director of the Tax Administration, requested that the enforcement decision made by Ružica Kovačević not be implemented after it was issued, even though it had to be forwarded to Fina without delay upon request. This allowed Biloš’s company, according to the prosecution’s claims, to operate without hindrance until the initiation of pre-bankruptcy settlement in May 2013, thus preventing enforcement.
