Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday that it seems likely that the operation to acquire shares in Fortenova was carried out in Russia, which the government could not influence in any way, and that no necessary approvals for this transaction were requested or issued in the EU.
– It seems that the operation took place at the last minute in Russia, and this is something that the Croatian government, whether it knew or did not know, whether it was informed or not, cannot influence in any way, with an entity from a third country, in this specific case it seems with an entity from the United Arab Emirates – said Plenković at the beginning of the government session.
He noted that according to available information no appropriate due diligence was conducted ‘nor was any approval for the transaction requested from any competent authorities in the EU, and certainly not in Croatia’.
– The response we have from the Dutch authorities is that no approval was requested there either, nor was it issued – said Plenković.
He announced that Croatian authorities would cooperate with others to fully assess the situation, what exactly happened, who the actual investor is, and whether the entire operation was conducted legally.
The most important thing is that the company and all its components function normally, without difficulties, he added.
Plenković reiterated that there are no specific tangible information about the background of the specific business operation, nor any official knowledge, and that the management of Fortenova was obviously not informed about it either.
He reminded that the co-ownership role of the Russian Sberbank, as the then creditor of Agrokor, is the result of business decisions made by the former management of Agrokor, and not a choice of the government.
The government, he added, has communicated with the management of Fortenova in recent months regarding facing the consequences of Russian aggression and the application of the sanctions regime on the company’s operations, while taking into account the overall economic and financial stability.
He mentioned that in the EU Regulation on sanctions from July of this year, when Sberbank was listed as a sanctioned legal entity, the government ensured a transitional period until the end of October, thereby securing all prerequisites for the buyout of Sberbank’s shares, with the approvals of the competent authorities.
Such approvals were also issued by all competent authorities in Croatia regarding the planned transaction of pension funds entering into co-ownership in Fortenova instead of Sberbank. However, the transaction was not realized due to Allianz’s withdrawal, which also led to the withdrawal of other pension funds, he recalled.
