Tomašević requested 30 million euros in damages from Bandić’s affairs

The new city administration on behalf of the City of Zagreb has submitted property-legal claims in all proceedings related to the former mayor Milan Bandić, in which, according to Uskok’s indictments, the City has suffered financial damage.

After this was confirmed to a journalist from Jutarnji list by the office of Zagreb mayor Tomislav Tomašević, it was announced the next day that Tomašević is seeking damages of 227 million kuna from Bandić’s affairs.

Indictments confirmed while Bandić was alive

These were confirmed indictments, and amounts for which the associates of the late mayor Bandić, the owners of companies that allegedly profited from these illegal activities, as well as certain court experts and lawyers who participated in them, were charged.

The indictments in affairs known as Agram, Nadstrešnice, Krašograd, Suhi led, and Pročistač were confirmed while Bandić was still alive (before February 28, 2021). The former city administration, logically, did not submit a request for the return of the money, which should be returned to the city treasury by Bandić and his associates.

A long road from request to collection

After Bandić’s death, proceedings against him were suspended, but not against the other accused. However, from the request to eventual collection, it was necessary to wait for the completion of the legal procedure and confirmation in final court rulings.

So, what is the situation five years later with those 227 million kuna, or today’s 30 million euros? Over the years, the indictments have been supplemented, and damage estimates have changed throughout the proceedings.

The Agram affair

In the Agram affair, the City claimed 2.7 million euros in 2021. For the exchange of city land and arranging waste management jobs, most of the accused were acquitted, including the owner of C.I.O.S. Petar Pripuz. Only convictions remained for illegal employment and the use of official vehicles for private purposes for Mira Laci and Zdenko Antunović, from whom the City claimed 2384 euros.

The Nadstrešnice affair

In the Nadstrešnice affair, due to favoritism in the installation of around 600 bus and tram shelters, Davor Jelavić and Vesna Lubin were provisionally sentenced to 3.5 years in prison, entrepreneur Petko Gavrilović to 2.5 years, Antun Fabek to two years, and supervising engineer Mladen Siketić to 1.5 years. The City claimed almost 1.5 million euros from them, and they were awarded 1.2 million euros.

The Suhi led affair

In the Suhi led affair, the ruling became final in November 2025. Zvonimir Šostar was sentenced to five and a half years in prison, Mirta Lončar to one year of unconditional imprisonment, and Davor Ljubić to seven years. The final ruling established that the City of Zagreb was damaged by these transactions in the amount of 38.95 million kuna, or about 5.17 million euros. This amount was not directly awarded to the City in the criminal proceedings, but was referred to civil proceedings with its property-legal claim, while the convicts were deprived of unlawfully acquired property benefits.

The Pročistač affair

The Pročistač affair related to the embezzlement of money during the construction and management of the central Zagreb wastewater treatment plant. The ruling became final in 2024. The former director of ZOV Ante Pavić was definitively sentenced to two years in prison, Darko Turopoljac to five, and Damir Vuljanko to three years. The proceedings against Hannes Schweitzer were suspended because he passed away before the ruling became final. The City of Zagreb was awarded 4.8 million kuna, or about 637 thousand euros.

The Krašograd affair

The largest part of the financial claims related to the so-called Krašograd affair, which actually had nothing to do with Kraš. It was named after one of the disputed locations near Kraš’s land, although the subject involved several exchanges of city land and real estate during 2007, and one location near Kraš was also in play. However, the case in which Zagreb is seeking around 20 million euros, has not yet received a judicial resolution.

Five years after the City requested the return of around 30 million euros, the judicial balance is still far from that amount. In the Agram affair, only about 2,384 euros in damages due to the use of official vehicles remained final, while in the Pročistač, the City was definitively awarded about 637 thousand euros.

In the Suhi led affair, it was definitively established that the City was damaged by an additional 5.17 million euros, while in the Nadstrešnice, approximately 1.18 million euros was provisionally awarded.

The largest individual claim, around 20 million euros in Krašograd, is still awaiting a judicial resolution.