July 10 (SeeNews) - Croatia is seeking 700 million euro ($787 million) in compensation from Serbia's Jugobanka, claiming the damage occurred following the bank's entry into bankruptcy back in 2002, Croatian media reported on Wednesday.
The commercial court in Split is expected to decide in the autumn whether to endorse the claim of the Croatian government against Jugobanka, which has been under receivership, news daily Vecernje Novosti reported.
If the court grants the request, Croatia will obtain the right to ask courts in Serbia to recognize the Split court's decision and put the Croatian government on the list of Jugobanka's creditors, Vecernje Novosti said.
In this case, Zagreb could seek to take control of valuable assets which Jugobanka, once one of the most powerful banks in the former Yugoslavia, used to have not only across the former Yugoslav republics but also in the US.
The alleged claim of 700 million euro reportedly occurred after the Croatian government disbursed 235 million euro to Jugobanka's depositors in Croatia following the bank's entry into bankruptcy.
Subsequently, the government launched a court case against Jugobanka's office representative in Split, seeking the repayment of this debt plus interest that is more than double the principal.
($=0.889420 euro)