At the request of the European prosecutor, five individuals have been arrested in Rijeka and Međimurje

The Office of the European Public Prosecutor (EPPO) reported that in cooperation with the police, five individuals were arrested this morning in Croatia on suspicion of abuse of position and authority, committed to the detriment of the EU Cohesion Fund.

Emergency investigative actions are underway to collect evidence, they state in a press release.

– The facts being verified relate to five individuals and one company, suspected of committing criminal acts of abuse of position and authority related to public procurement procedures within the project for the construction of a sorting facility for collected waste in Mihačeva Draga – the statement reads.

The Office of the European Public Prosecutor will decide on further actions in the case after questioning the suspects, and will inform the public in a timely manner. Until then, no additional details will be published, EPPO stated.

According to unofficial information, the investigation also includes the director of Međimurje’s Tehnix Đuro Horvat and Darko Žagar from the Čakovec company Žagar, which carried out the design and project supervision for the Mihačeva Draga sorting facility project. Allegedly, there are suspicions of illegal favoritism during the tender for this job, as well as that the entire project was unjustifiably overpaid, Index reports.

Additionally, the investigation reportedly includes several individuals in Rijeka, as well as individuals connected to the Međimurje company Tehnix, which performed work on the waste management project. According to Index, among the suspects is the head of the Rijeka City Department for the Communal System Irena Miličević, her associate, the advisor for capital investments in the Department for the Communal System Eddy Ropac, and the director of Rijeka’s Čistoća Jasna Kukuljan, who, according to unofficial information from Novi list, has already submitted her resignation today.

The Mayor of Rijeka, Marko Filipović, commented earlier for Jutarnji list on the arrests related to the misuse of EU funds used for the construction of the Rijeka sorting facility, stating that he would like the situation to be resolved as soon as possible and that the sorting facility was completed on time and according to the cost estimate, and that irregularities had not been noticed.

EPPO emphasized that the action is being carried out in cooperation with the National Police Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime.