It would seem that the most recent controversial allegations from Ivica Todorić about duress and blackmail haven’t had the desired response.
As Poslovni Dnevnik reports on the 23rd of September, 2017, Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić said on Friday that the Todorić family had created Agrokor, but had also ruined it, and that the government had done everything to rescue the endangered company and the entire economy.
When asked, Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalić responded with her obvious lack of desire to comment on Ivica Todorić or his announcement.
“Why do you think Ivica Todorić is really that important that the government would comment on him?” Dalić retorted in her usual manner in response to a journalist’s question regarding Ivica Todorić’s controversial remarks about the role of the government in the Agrokor crisis.
As mentioned, Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić remarked that the while Todorić family had created Agrokor, it had also ruined it, and that the government had done everything to try to rescue the company and the economic situation that immediately followed the Agrokor crisis.
“Agrokor was created by the Todorić family, which, unfortunately, has obviously ruined it. The Croatian government has done everything it can to save both the company, and the whole Croatian economy. It brought in a bill of law which Mr. Todorić has accepted needs to be implemented, and that’s it,” stated the Minister of Agriculture upon the requests of journalists to comment on the latest situation.
Asked by journalists about government manipulation, he rejected such claims: “Whatever he (Todorić) is claiming, is his problem,” Tolušić said after the government session.
Goran Marić stated that the former Management Board had brought Agrokor into the situation in which it now finds itself.
In response to a journalist’s question to comment on Ivica Todorić’s most recent comments about being under ”duress and blackmail”, State Property Minister Goran Marić said: ”The former administration of Agrokor has led the company into the circumstances in which it now finds itself, an unenviable situation, also for all the suppliers and creditors, Todorić sought help from the state himself,”.
He stated that Todorić’s motives for prosecuting the government cannot pass.
When asked whether or not there was any evidence that Todorić had in some way harmed the current and former government, Maric replied: “I don’t know what Todorić thinks or knows. All I know is that he used the island of Smokvica for twenty years without paying any fee, and illegally” .
Marić didn’t want to comment on Todorić’s latest controversial announcement about taking the government to court, saying, “How do I know what goes on in Todorić’s head?” The most important thing is that Agrokor as a system works, pays its suppliers, that the season is good and that creditors and OPGs have been paid too.”
Agrokor’s extraordinary administration isn’t in any rush to comment on Ivica Todorić’s latest remarks in which he calls upon the government to ”withdraw their political moves”.
“The extraordinary administration has no comment to make on Mr. Todorić,” the spokesman stated.
The ever controversial Ivica Todorić announced that public statements and releases of relevant documents would fully disclose the alignment of politics, private interests of the heads of funds and important people from Agrokor itself, which is the real reason for ”passing an unconstitutional law called Lex Agrokor”.
Todorić claims that at the beginning of 2017, before the crisis and while he and his management were running Agrokor, the company ”had a firm plan for progress, successful growth and payment of creditors in accordance with legal obligations.”
He claims that he and the Agrokor Administration signed the activation of the law (Lex Agrokor) “under intimidation, coercion, threats and the manipulation of legal provisions”.
He also argues that numerous lawsuits were launched against Agrokor and that revenue allegedly fell by about 20% as a result.
The situation continues.
