The trial of former Janaf director Dragan Kovačević, charged with receiving and giving bribes and arranging deals in the state-owned company, is set to begin at the Zagreb County Court on Friday, November 24. This comes three years after he was arrested in the Janaf scandal.
Kovačević is accused of accepting a million euros in exchange for arranging jobs worth almost HRK 65 million for an entrepreneur’s company. He also received two apartments from an entrepreneur whose companies he arranged deals worth millions of dollars. Dozens of witnesses are expected to be heard during the procedure for arranging deals worth HRK 100 million.
In addition to Kovačević, several other individuals are also charged in the indictment, including entrepreneurs Krešo Petek, Edo Seifried, Ivan Širić, and Vatroslav Sablić, as well as two former employees of Janaf, Vlado Zorić and Vladimir Vrbanc.
The trial will likely be closely watched by many people who have been following the Janaf scandal since its beginning. Kovačević has denied any wrongdoing and claims that the indictment against him is “completely fabricated and false.” He attempted to appeal his case to the Constitutional Court but was unsuccessful. His assets were frozen by authorities prior to his arrest, but it remains unclear what will happen to them now that the trial has begun.