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Croatian version below
(Luxembourg, 8 December 2023) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zagreb (Croatia) has officially initiated an investigation against two persons – a former minister and a former employee of Croatia’s Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds (MRRFEU) – for abuse of office and authority. This follows a preliminary investigation conducted in cooperation with Croatia’s National Police Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (PNUSKOK).
The responsibility of the former minister of the MRRFEU was to ensure that EU and national funds were spent lawfully, and that public procurement procedures carried out by the MRRFEU were conducted according to the law.
According to the preliminary investigation, however, during the period from May 2017 to July 2019, the former minister insisted that her private restaurant expenses be paid with public money. It is understood that, on at least nine occasions, she partly paid for private restaurant visits with money from the representation budget of her cabinet, which is solely intended for official representation purposes. Based on the evidence, these expenses were partly included in the procurement costs of the EU’s ‘Competitiveness and Cohesion’ Operational Programme, managed by the MRRFEU’s Directorate for Strategic Planning and Coordination of EU Funds.
It is alleged, therefore, that this coverage of private restaurant expenses with public funds led to an undue pecuniary gain, for the former minister, of € 9 732.35 – to the detriment of the financial interests of the EU (85%) and of the Republic of Croatia (15%).
It is also suspected that the former employee of the MRRFEU, who was tasked with organising official activities on behalf of the ministry’s Directorate for Strategic Planning and Coordination of EU Funds, prepared a simple procurement procedure, and took other necessary actions, to have the costs of the former minister’s restaurant birthday celebration covered by non-reimbursable funds from the ‘Competitiveness and Cohesion’ Operational Programme. This is understood, therefore, to have led to an additional expense of €1 353.77 used for the former minister’s private purposes, paid with funds from the EU (85%) and the State Budget of the Republic of Croatia (15%).
The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.
Hrvatska: EPPO istražuje bivšu ministricu i zaposlenicu ministarstva zbog zlouporabe položaja i ovlasti
(Luksemburg, 8. prosinca 2023.) – Ured europskog javnog tužitelja (EPPO) u Zagrebu (Hrvatska) službeno je pokrenuo istragu protiv dviju osoba – bivše ministrice i bivše zaposlenice hrvatskog Ministarstva regionalnoga razvoja i fondova Europske unije (MRRFEU) – zbog zlouporabe položaja i ovlasti. Ovo je uslijedilo nakon izvida provedenih u suradnji s Nacionalnim policijskim Uredom za suzbijanje korupcije i organiziranog kriminaliteta (PNUSKOK).
Odgovornost bivše ministrice MRRFEU-a bila je osigurati zakonito trošenje sredstava Europske unije i nacionalnih sredstava, kao i da postupci javne nabave koje provodi MRRFEU budu provedeni sukladno zakonu.
Međutim, provedenim izvidima je utvrđeno da je bivša ministrica u razdoblju od svibnja 2017. do srpnja 2019. nalagala da se njezini privatni troškovi u ugostiteljskim objektima koji nisu bili u opravdane službene već u privatne svrhe, i kao takvi nisu bili prihvatljivi za financiranje sredstvima Unije, plate javnim novcem. Tako postoji osnovana sumnja da je u najmanje devet navrata nalagala da se njezini privatni troškovi u ugostiteljskim objektima dijelom plate s pozicije reprezentacije Kabineta ministrice kao trošak reprezentacije u službene svrhe, iako za to osnova nije bilo, a dijelom uključi u troškove nabave Uprave za strateško planiranje i koordinaciju EU fondova iz Operativnog programa Konkurentnost i kohezija.
Ovakvim plaćanjem privatnih troškova u ugostiteljskim objektima javnim sredstvima bivša ministrica stekla je nepripadnu imovinsku korist u iznosu od 9.732,35 eura – na štetu fincijskih interesa EU (85%) i Republike Hrvatske (15%).
Također se sumnja da je bivša zaposlenica MRRFEU-a, koja je bila zadužena za organizaciju službenih aktivnosti u ime Uprave za strateško planiranje i koordinaciju EU fondova Ministarstva, pripremila jednostavni postupak javne nabave, te je poduzela sve radnje potrebne da troškovi rođendanske proslave bivše ministrice u restoranu budu pokriveni bespovratnim sredstvima iz Oprerativnog programa konkurentnost i kohezija. Slijedom toga, iznos od najmanje 1.353,77 eura nastao u privatne svrhe bivše ministrice, plaćen je sredstvima iz EU fondova (85%) i Državnog proračuna Republike Hrvatske (15%).
EPPO je neovisni ured javnog tužitelja Europske unije. Odgovoran je za istragu, kazneni progon i podizanje optužnice za kaznena djela protiv financijskih interesa EU-a.