The court should make the final decision on whether Todorić will be extradited to Croatia.
The founder of Agrokor Ivica Todorić will try to convince the High Court in London, which rejected his appeal to an earlier decision to extradite him Croatia in late July, to change its mind, which is his last chance to avoid extradition, reports Index.hr on September 6, 2018.
Ivica Todorić will be represented in court by Cherie Blair, also known as Cherie Booth, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and one of the world’s best known human rights lawyers, N1 reports.
On July 24, the High Court rejected Todorić’s appeal to the first-instance ruling issued on 23 April, according to which he should be extradited to Croatia. After his appeal was rejected, Todorić asked the court for another opportunity to be heard, which was granted and the hearing was scheduled for September 6. If Todorić fails to convince the court, the extradition decision will become final.
It is possible that Todorić might have prepared surprises for the court. According to dnevnik.hr, citing sources close to Todorić, there is a possibility that he personally will not appear before the High Court, but that only the lawyers would show up.
Judge of Westminster Court Emma Arbuthnot approved the extradition of Ivica Todorić to Croatia on 23 April, failing to accept arguments made by Todorić’s defence that he was a victim of political persecution. Through the testimony of two witnesses, Todorić’s defence tried to prove the existence of political motives for his prosecution, as well as that there were no financial irregularities in Agrokor and that the Croatian prosecution did not yet have enough solid evidence to confirm the indictment.
“I have not found any evidence of political motivation for prosecution. I recognize the fact that the Agrokor affair has a political dimension since it represents 15 percent of Croatian GDP, but prosecution based on the revealed evidence has not been conducted under political pressure,” the judge said in her explanation.
If the High Court again rejects Todorić’s arguments, the extradition decision will become final and his extradition will be in the hand of the United Kingdom and Croatian police forces which need to agree on the details. The extradition deadline is ten days, and this deadline may be extended for an additional ten days if any problems arise. There is another way to postpone extradition, which is to cite health problems.
Todorić was arrested on November 7 in London, where he fled after the Agrokor affair outbreak. He was arrested based on a European arrest warrant issued by Croatia and was released on the same day with a 100,000-pound bail.
If extradition occurs, Todorić will be taken to the Remetinec today in Zagreb, based on a decision by the Zagreb County Court due to a possible influence on witnesses. Only when he arrives at Remetinec, the court will decide whether he should remain in custody or be released on bail.
In October 2017, the prosecution office issued an arrest warrant for Ivica Todorić, a suspect in the Agrokor affair. The Zagreb County State Attorney’s Office has initiated an investigation against Todorić, his sons Ivan and Ante Todorić, and 12 Agrokor managers and auditors for illegally obtaining 1.142 billion kuna.
Translated from Index.hr.
