ZAGREB (Croatia), October 17 (SeeNews) – Criminal charges will be filed against 12 people detained by Croatia's police as part of a probe of suspected abuse of trust in business operations, forging of official documents and failure to keep business records in ailing Agrokor concern, the ministry of the interior said late on Monday.
Police raids of homes and business premises in 27 locations are expected to continue throughout the day on Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said that arrest warrants were issued by an investigating judge against 15 people, but three of them 'are unavailable'. These are Agrokor owner Ivica Todoric and his two sons, who also held top positions in Croatia's largest privately held company. All three are suspected to currently be in London.
Todoric's attorney Jadranka Slokovic told the media on Monday that Agrokor's owner is not on the run, but that his return will depend on new developments.
According to local media reports, 10 of the 12 arrested persons are top executives of Agrokor, while two are employees of accountancy and business advisory firm Baker Tilly Croatia - the auditor of the concern's financial statements which were revealed to contain huge accounting errors by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Former financial executive at Agrokor, Ivan Crnjac; senior executive vice-president Ljerka Puljic - Todoric's closest associate; Todoric's son-in-law and executive vice-president for central procurement and corporate services, Hrvoje Balent, are among the ten people currently being detained at the premises of the country's Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK).