The trial of former Janaf director Dragan Kovačević, who has been accused of accepting and giving bribes and making deals in a state-owned company, will begin at the Zagreb County Court on Friday, November 24. Several other individuals are also named 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 Vrbanac.
In the indictment, Uskok claims that Petek paid Kovačević and his associates one million euros in exchange for jobs worth almost HRK 65 million for Petek’s company. Kovačević is also accused of receiving two apartments from an entrepreneur whose companies he used to make deals worth millions. It is expected that dozens of witnesses will be heard during the procedure for concluding deals worth HRK 100 million.
Kovačević and Petek are also involved in the second part of the Janaf affair, which refers to the arrangement of jobs for Elektrocentar Petek. Uskok launched a new investigation against Kovačević and Petek, suspecting him of taking money from Petek in exchange for contracting jobs in Janaf; and Petek about buying clothes for Kovačević and his family and friends.
In his statement before the indictment panel, Kovačević stated that the indictment was “completely fabricated and false” and called for a “quick and fair trial”. He also tried to maneuver before the Constitutional Court to save his considerable assets, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
Kovačević’s property was frozen by Uskok, but due to changes made to the Criminal Procedure Code in June 2022 it can only be unfrozen after an indictment is filed. Despite these changes it remains uncertain what will happen to Kovačević’s assets in the future.