Until recently, the president of the Croatian Bar Association (HOK), Josip Šurjak, one of the five suspects in the robbery of INA in excess of HRK 1 billion, was released from pre-trial detention on Wednesday evening after all the witnesses were questioned, the court learned.
At the end of September, the investigative judge of the Zagreb County Court extended Šurjak’s remand for 15 days due to the risk of influencing witnesses, but also the risk of repeating the crime, as the accounts in Hungary had not yet been blocked.
For the same reasons, the detention of Šurjak’s business partner Goran Husić was extended, in whose case four more witnesses remained to be questioned.
Out of the five suspects in the Ina affair, the former director of Ina, Damir Škugor, is still in pre-trial detention, in whose case, according to Uskok’s earlier statements, five more of the total of 17 witnesses remain to be questioned.
They bought gas from INA for 19.5 euros, and sold it for 210
Škugor was previously detained because of the risk of influencing witnesses, but not because of the risk of repeating the criminal act, since he was relieved of all functions in INA. Škugor’s father Dane was released at the end of August after the investigating judge of the Zagreb County Court questioned his wife and daughter-in-law.
In addition to Škugore, Šurjak and Husić, Uskoko’s investigation into malfeasance in the resale of gas also included the now former president of the board of Plinara East Slavonia, Marija Ratkić, who was released from custody at the beginning of September.
Uskok suspects the five that they damaged INA by more than HRK 1 billion through gas fraud. The prosecution specified that the illegal earnings of Damir Škugor and his father amounted to almost half a billion kuna, while Goran Husić profited by over 90 million kuna, and Josip Šurjak by 68.9 million kuna. Over 200 million HRK of illegally obtained deductions remained on the account of their company OMS Ulaganje.
The prosecution pointed out that the suspects bought gas from INA for 19.5 euros and sold it for as much as 210 euros.
Remand in custody in two more investigations
Magdalena Dovečer, the former head of the HAMAG BICRO coordination service, was released from custody on Wednesday evening.
Nurse Petra Rumiha, suspected of organizing a corrupt chain that allowed unvaccinated people to get covid certificates based on false vaccination information, was also released.
The judge of the investigation previously ordered Dovečer to be detained due to the risk of influencing witnesses and the risk of repeating the criminal act, and Rumihi due to the risk of influencing witnesses.
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