Member of Parliament Dario Hrebak (HSLS) said on Saturday that according to what is known so far, European rules were violated in the purchase of Fortenova and that nothing would be gained from the purchase of that company, he also believes that the prime minister cannot know if the transaction took place outside the EU.
“In other words, there will probably be legal entanglements,” said Hrebak, adding that this may have been the goal. “Perhaps the goal was to cause chaos, a legal tangle that will last until the sanctions expire, and then we’ll see what happens. That is not excluded either,” he told reporters.
He stressed that he still believes in the free market, that anyone who wants to come to Croatia or the EU with foreign capital is welcome, but he is suspicious of the way in which everything unfolded in Forten’s case.
“I think that they should respect the rules of Croatia as well as the EU. The rules are very clear and obviously someone avoided or tried to avoid those rules”, he assessed.
He reminded that the media spread the thesis that the company registered in the Netherlands did not obtain the necessary permits where it was registered.
And that’s where the story ends, (…) how is it possible for someone as a natural person to pay 500 million euros, and we know absolutely nothing about it in terms of the transparency of the entire procedure, said Hrebak and sent a clear message. “So, such capital is not welcome in Croatia, and especially not in a company that is strategically important regardless of whether it is privately owned.”
He reminds that Fortenova has a large number of concessions for the exploitation of water, for agricultural land, and says that the Government should position itself very clearly, seek answers from everyone who participated in the process. “If it turns out, and DORH has already started, that it is a criminal act, everyone who participated in that process should be prosecuted, whether outside Croatia or inside it. Very clearly, to protect our national interest”, the representative points out.
The Prime Minister cannot know if the transaction took place outside the EU
He is also of the opinion that we should “get on the ball”, that Croatian and European institutions will be asked about everything. I think that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should, in cooperation with the Netherlands, see what concretely the Dutch institutions can officially say about it, he said. “What we need to grasp is the statement of the Dutch institutions that no request for a license has been obtained there and that this request cannot be obtained retroactively, this means that Fortenova is still in the status quo”, he emphasized.
He also points out that it is “logical” that the prime minister cannot know about it if the transaction took place outside the EU, and that he does not feel that the president of the country knows anything about it either. The company is registered in the Netherlands, the transaction, most likely, took place in Russia, and all we have is what the PR agency releases, if it wasn’t about such a serious company, I would say it’s quackery, said Hrebak.
Classical circumvention of European sanctions
“I will be extremely undiplomatic, here it is clear that Russian capital is trying to find, through various strange channels, a space to enter and stay on the European market, without suffering European sanctions. This is a classic circumvention of European sanctions,” he said. “If I were the board, I would let him just kiss the door,” he responded to the claim that Saif Alketbi, who acquired a 43.4 percent stake in Fortenova, had approached the directors to put his man on the company’s board of directors.
If he came with proof that he had the necessary permits, of course I would accept him, but if not, he would kiss the door at my place”, he answered the question whether, if he were the prime minister, he would accept Alketbi.
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