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Vajda: It is in our interest to establish the factual situation as soon as possible

<p>Proizvodni pogon Mesne industrije Vajde</p>
Proizvodni pogon Mesne industrije Vajde / Image by: foto

– Vajda is cooperating with investigative authorities. We are aware of the activities being conducted by the competent bodies, we have actively participated in communication so far and will continue to act as usual – in accordance with applicable laws. We cooperate with all relevant institutions and will present all requested documentation. It is in the interest of the Company to establish the factual situation as soon as possible – stated Vajda, a member of the Braća Pivac Group, after the Office of the European Public Prosecutor (EPPO) based in Zagreb began conducting urgent evidence-gathering actions in several Croatian counties due to suspicions of subsidy fraud and document forgery.

The Braća Pivac Group has, as it has stated, used European money for its projects, including the Čakovec-based Vajda, but it is not yet known exactly what the EPPO is investigating, although N1 assumes that the subject of the investigation is the suspicion that Vajda took funds from EU funds that were later not invested for their intended purpose, leading to forged documentation. Of course, this still needs to be established. However, Telegram also reminds of its writing from June last year, which stated ‘that the Pivac brothers received millions of euros, and on some reported farms, they do not have any livestock at all’.

MI Braća Pivac is the sole shareholder of Vajda, headed by Vilim Simon, and the Management Board member is Igor Polanec. The Management Board member of MI Braća Pivac Neven Pivac is a procurator in the Čakovec company, which the Pivac brothers entered as co-owners in 2015. The Leader requested a comment on these claims, but Vajda only sent a response that they are cooperating with the competent authorities. We also asked MI Braća Pivac whether the investigative authorities contacted that company, but that is all we managed to obtain from the Vrgorac group.

There is currently no confirmation from the EPPO that Vajda is the subject of the investigation, it was only stated that ‘actions are being conducted against several Croatian citizens who are reasonably suspected of committing subsidy fraud worth several million euros and document forgery, to the detriment of the financial interests of the Union.’

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