Damir Vanđelić: I saw that Ina was losing money, Ćorić told me I was ‘politicizing’

Damir Vanđelić, former president of the Supervisory Board of Ina, commented on the Ina robbery scandal for N1. Vanđelić was first a member of the Supervisory Board of Ina, and from 2016 until the end of 2021, he served as the president of the Supervisory Board.

He emphasized that the disputed contract is a matter for the Management Board’s decision, while the Supervisory Board oversees controls through certain services.

– The Supervisory Board monitors operations quarter by quarter. For the last quarter of 2021, the report was made only in the first quarter of 2022. This means that the Supervisory Board considered the report on March 23, 2022. The Supervisory Board votes on the report, and the minister should have been present if he was there – said Vanđelić for N1.

He also added that last year in May, they reacted in the Supervisory Board and requested a meeting because they had some information, and eight people in high positions at Ina were dismissed. He explained that from the perspective of the Supervisory Board, dozens of companies are monitored, and it is impossible to track someone in real-time.

– Mr. Škugor was at level five and was then promoted to level four. Some of those dismissed at that time were excellent managers, and human resources said they were better than those being brought in. They were not happy with Škugor’s arrival. I put the topic on the agenda, and in English, I said what the plan was to dismiss these eight people. We had a meeting, but we did not receive satisfactory answers. They said they were improving the organization and directing decision-making to Budapest. Let’s not pretend – MOL manages Ina – said Vanđelić.

He emphasized that he did not receive satisfactory solutions regarding dismissals, i.e., removals.

– After a month and a half, it was noticed that Ina was consistently losing money. We sent an email to all Supervisory Board members that Ina’s operations were lagging and that we were losing 200 million euros annually; there is clearly a problem. I sent an email to all members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board and a copy to Minister Ćorić – explained Vanđelić.

He did not receive answers from Ćorić but was invited to a meeting, where he was told he was ‘politicizing’ and that he was dealing with some other business. Vanđelić noted that Škugor’s name was not mentioned at that meeting and that he does not know him. He also added that Ćorić wanted peace.

– Don’t politicize – that is the main refrain I heard – said Vanđelić.

– I think Uskok is doing well and that they should be given 200,000 kuna monthly salaries to work better. I doubt that they could not catch something like this; I am sure that a bunch of people talked about this at meetings. It is impossible to miss – he emphasized.

When asked if there are indications in the last quarterly report that the Supervisory Board could realize that fraud occurred in the gas business, he said he read it and that it worried him.

– In the reports of the external auditor and the Management Board, they say that reasonable measures have been taken to eliminate illegalities. The Audit Committee then tells the Supervisory Board that everything is fine, as does the external audit, based on which to conclude that there is a problem – he said and emphasized that Škugor could not have signed this alone. “Someone had to notice this. Ina has a very strong security service, checking everything that is a potential fraud,” he revealed.

In the end, he concluded that the whole situation is shameful and that Croatia should move away from the level of corruption it is currently at.