September 25 (SeeNews) - The owner of Croatia's ailing concern Agrokor, Ivica Todoric, said he is set to launch legal proceedings against the state, both at home and abroad, over what he claims is unlawful seizure of private property and bad business.
Bad business ensued after the government set in motion a law enabling it to take over the management of the concern for 15 months, Todoric said in a recent blog post published online.
In his first public statement in months, Todoric accuses the government of nationalisation and the adoption of what he terms an unconstitutional law which allowed the government to take over Agrokor at the cost of Croatia and its economy.
Todoric claims that he signed the activation of the law under pressure, coercion and manipulation of legal provisions, while claiming that at the beginning of 2017 Agrokor was operating better than it had before without the existence of any exceptional circumstances.
Agrokor now, he continues, has been burdened with an unnecessary and unlawful loan, while all its critical strategic assets have been used as collateral.
"Agrokor's billions have indeed been lost. But not by me or by my associates, but due to the government's activities before and after the adoption of Lex Agrokor", Todoric states. "The citizens of Croatia and the region will be convinced that the nationalisation of Agrokor, designed by the government, is a political project that is in full contrast to the interests of the Republic of Croatia."
The owner of Agrokor goes on to claim that the government's decision to take over the concern has far-reaching economic consequences which can already be measured in the billions.
"Therefore, in the coming time, in order to protect the value of investments in Agrokor, the jobs and the economies of the countries in which we operate and all of our stakeholders, I will launch all the legal actions available to me, both in Croatia and with international bodies", Todoric says, adding that he will then expose the real reasons behind the adoption of "the unconstitutional Lex Agrokor".
Todoric remains the owner of Agrokor. The government stripped him of his managerial rights in April this year when its special legislation designed to prevent the collapse of the indebted concern entered into force. The government justified the adoption of the law popularly known as Lex Agrokor by saying Agrokor is a company of systemic importance for the country and its collapse could have a catastrophic impact on the economy.