August 16 (SeeNews) - The owner of Croatia's ailing concern Agrokor, Ivica Todoric, is preparing to sue the government over damages he has allegedly suffered due to a law which enabled the authorities to take over the management of the concern for 15 months, local media reported.
A few days after Russia's Sberbank launched three arbitration suits against an Agrokor subsidiary, which could be a prelude to a lawsuit against Croatia, Todoric is said to be preparing his own legal battle, news magazine Nacional reported in its latest issue.
Todoric is expected to take the government to court in the Netherlands and then move to Croatia, and is expected to ask for a massive payout for alleged damages he has allegedly suffered when the government seized control of the food-to-retail concern.
Nacional reports that the amount of damages he will seek could shake Croatia and could be compared to a coup. The source for the information published in Nacional is said to be a senior official of an EU member state.
Todoric remains the owner of Agrokor. The government stripped him of his managerial rights in April this year when it 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.