ZAGREB, October 24, 2018 – London’s High Court is expected on Thursday to deliver a final ruling on the right of the founder of the Croatian Agrokor food and retail group, Ivica Todorić, to appeal against the lower-court ruling on his extradition to Croatia.ZAGREB, October 24, 2018 – London’s High Court is expected on Thursday to deliver a final ruling on the right of the founder of the Croatian Agrokor food and retail group, Ivica Todorić, to appeal against the lower-court ruling on his extradition to Croatia.
The High Court will sustain or overrule the motion by the Croatian businessman’s defence team to appeal against the April 23 ruling in which Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot approved his extradition to Croatia, where he is wanted for fraud and embezzlement of money from Agrokor.The High Court will sustain or overrule the motion by the Croatian businessman’s defence team to appeal against the April 23 ruling in which Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot approved his extradition to Croatia, where he is wanted for fraud and embezzlement of money from Agrokor.
In the event that the first-instance ruling is upheld, Todorić will be extradited, and if it is dismissed, appellate proceedings will ensue.
On 6 September, London’s High Court postponed its final decision until October after the defence team said they had new evidence. The presiding judge then insisted that it had to be new evidence and not the rearrangement of old pieces of evidence.
On 6 September, defence lawyer James Hines told the court that documents leaked to the media from the Croatian Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) could serve as evidence to corroborate the claims by Todorić that the investigation against him in Croatia had been affected by political influence.
Todorić hired additional lawyers in September, including Hines and Cherie Blair, the wife of former long-serving British Prime Minister Tony Blair, apart from his two Croatian lawyers.
On July 24, London’s High Court overturned Todorić’s appeal against the first-instance ruling of April 23 under which he was to be extradited to Croatia. After his appeal was rejected, Todorić asked the court for one more chance to be heard, which was granted and a hearing was scheduled for September 6.
On April 23, Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot approved Todorić’s extradition rejecting defence claims that he was a victim of political persecution in Croatia. “I accept that the Agrokor affair has a political dimension as it represents 15 percent of the GDP of Croatia, but the prosecution is based on the evidence uncovered and is not being pursued because of political pressure,” she said.
After the Agrokor debt crisis broke out, Todorić fled to London, where he was arrested on 7 November 2017 on a European warrant issued by Croatia. He was released on bail, but he had to hand over his passport and was ordered to wear an electronic tag and report to police three times a week.
He said then that he would use every legal means available in the UK to avoid extradition to Croatia.
Todorić, his two sons and 12 Agrokor executives and auditors are suspected of fraud totalling 1.142 billion kuna (153 million euro).
