The trial of former Janaf director Dragan Kovačević, who is charged with receiving and giving bribes and arranging deals in the state-owned company, will begin at the Zagreb County Court on Friday, November 24. Kovačević was arrested three years ago in the Janaf scandal, and his indictment includes several other individuals, including entrepreneurs Krešo Petek, Edo Seifried, Ivan Širić, and Vatroslav Sablić, as well as two former employees of Janaf.
According to the indictment, Petek paid Kovačević and his associates a million euros in a scheme related to jobs worth almost HRK 65 million for Petek’s company. Kovačević is also accused of receiving 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 these charges, Kovačević and Petek are also involved in a second part of the Janaf affair related to arranging jobs for Elektrocentra Petek. A new investigation was launched against them by Uskok, which suspects that Kovačević took money from Petek in exchange for arranging jobs in Janaf; and that Petek bought clothes for Kovačević and his family and friends.
During his statement before the indictment panel, Kovačević claimed that the indictment is “completely fabricated and false” and urged for a “quick and fair trial.” He also attempted to maneuver before the Constitutional Court to save his substantial assets but was unsuccessful. His assets had been frozen by Uskok prior to the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code in June 2022; however, it is still unclear what will happen to them now that the code has changed. Despite this change, it remains uncertain what lies ahead for Kovačević and his assets
