ZAGREB, Sept 11, 2020 – The Conflict of Interest Commission found on Friday that FinMin violated the principle of good conduct by participating in a decision by the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) to grant a loan to a company owned by his friend Josip Stojanovic Jolly.
The procedure against Maric was launched in December last year due to the possibility of bias because, in his capacity as finance minister and president of the HBOR supervisory board, he did not excuse himself from the decision to issue a loan to Stojanovic’s Olympia Vodice company, which was issued with an HBOR loan for the construction of a hotel even though he had made it clear in his statements to the media that Stojanovic was a friend of his.
The commission decided on Friday that Maric was not in conflict of interest but rather that he had violated the principle of good conduct, which is not subject to any penalty.
The commission also found that Maric had not violated the law by attending a World Cup match in Russia where he was seen in Stojanovic’s company, as Maric provided evidence that he personally paid for his ticket.
In a second case, the commission found that Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic and members of parliament who crossed the floor and joined his parliamentary group had not violated the law.
The commission decided on each individual member of parliament who crossed the floor and joined Bandic’s party and whether they were rewarded for that with some counter-favor. The commission found that no violation had occurred with regard to the Conflict of Interest Act.
The procedure involved Mayor Bandic and Members of Parliament Marija Puh, Mladen Madjer, Milanka Opacic, and Sinisa Varga who crossed the floor in parliament, as well as Deputy Mayor of Donja Stubica Luka Grabusic and Radoboj Mayor Andjelko Topolovec who too joined Bandic’s party.
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