"A new political scandal in Croatia?"

Nothing scares some organisations as much as truth itself

Summary: Techrights has got some news from Croatia which can indirectly relate to the EPO scandals and are associated with corruption and criminal charges

Weekend news in Techrights will set aside the EPO's attack on unions (at least for a moment) and focus on other patent-related matters. We will hopefully fully catch up with everything that is out there about the attack on the unions (we still need the internal communication from the EPO and the Heise article's translation, shall anyone be willing and able to provide those).

Today, for the first time in quite a while, Croatia will be our focus, at the very least because the criminal charges against Željko Topić resurface in some form in the press. The Topić Audi/Mercedes scandal was covered here numerous times before, so readers can revisit our archives and catch up.

"I just got news for Croatia," a source told us, "that the former Minister of Science Dragan Primorac is being considered as a candidate for the position of Foreign Minister in the new government."

We received a translation of a recent news report from tjedno.hr, a news site from Croatia. "According to the information," this source told us, "the new government is due to be announced on Friday." (that's this week)

"Here is a link which gives some information about the situation," this source told us. To quote: "HDZ president Tomislav Karamarko and MOST leader Božo Petrov met yesterday afternoon for an hour and discussed the process of forming the new Croatian government, reports Vecernji List on January 12, 2016."

“Now Battistelli created his gang with for the biggest part French friends and family members.”
      --AnonymousConsider the arrest of previous country leaders in Croatia. The perception of corruption there is high and the perception of corruption inside the EPO (where Topić is Battistelli's right-hand man) has become quite high or strong. It's so strong in fact that earlier today someone called for sanctions against Germany (until it intervenes in EPO affairs). To quote this one comment: "As an expression of personal protest against Germany, the host country of the EPO which incomprehensibly continues to tolerate on his soil the dictatorship of Mr Battistelli & Co. (as the Münchner Merkur put it: "Die letzte Diktatur auf dem deutschen Boden" after the Nazi and DDR regimes), whenever possible, I will stop buying or using German goods or services until the German Government takes clear position against the blatant violations of human rights and rules of law at the EPO. I ask all the readers of this blog, who still care about justice and the future of the EPO, to join me in this boycott. It might sound irrelevant but every long walk begins with a small step."

Another person hopes that Battistelli "and his gang will soon be dismissed and replaced by a normal functioning management." To quote this entire new comment: "Knowing the EPO from the time of Bob van Benthem, the first president and one of the fathers of the EPC and of a successfull EPO, I felt very sad yesterday and also the whole year 2015 because of the very bad news I received regularly. Bob was an honest and high level patent specialist. But he was also a generous and sensitive human being. He was an excellent manager. That time it was impossible that when you worked for the EPO, your wife could get a job there. The EPO did not like two ۬privileged۬ in one family. Now Battistelli created his gang with for the biggest part French friends and family members. Moreover Battistelli has by far not the high quality of Bob. He is not a honest and a high level patent specialist. He is a not a human honest person but a dishonest and cruel person and not only because of that not able to be a manager. Battistelli is the first president who needs body guards. He is the first president who avoids contact with the directors and examiners. He is the first president who needs Control Risks and illegal phone and PC taps. I hope that he and his gang will soon be dismissed and replaced by a normal functioning management.

“Battistelli is the first president who needs body guards.”
      --Anonymous"The EPO staff representatives always did excellent work. Els Hardon advised me once in a case in a very good and detailed manner. She is very intelligent and for SUEPO the right woman on the right place. I fully agree with Anonymous here above that the vicious and disproportionate punishment dished out by Battistelli shows how well the staff representatives have done their jobs in exposing him and his inner circle for what they are. I think with his decision Battistelli shot in his own foot."

One person rightly asked: "How did the President get this position? Are there no checks or tests at all?"

He is more well-connected than sufficiently qualified [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].

Another commenter wrote "An Organisation which belongs to just one man is no true Organisation!"

With all this in mind, consider the fact that the last thing Battistelli wants right now is some 'investigative' unit going after him and fellow managers. "It will be interesting to see whether Primorac is appointed or not," our source told us. Here is the original article (in Croatian) and here it is in English as HTML:

EXCLUSIVE: MAIN FEATURE

VETERAN MANIPULATORS PRIMORAC, ŽANETIĆ AND STERN TO BE MEMBERS OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT BY DECISION OF PM DESIGNATE

3 January 2016

Dragan Primorac is involved in two incidental criminal lawsuits from the era of Prime Minister Sanader. One of these is associated with the Croatian Standards' Institute (DZN) where a "written-off" VW Touareg SUV disappeared. Siniša Žanetić was in the securities business, and earned his expertise in the Karlovačka and Raiffeisen Banks, Zagreb Insurance and Partner Bank. During his time in Karlovačka bank he was sentenced in the Karlovac court and fined along with Sandi Å ola and Marijana Trpčić-Reškovac. As far back as 2000, Mr. Radimir ÄŒačić, a member of the Račan government, publicly stated that " prison bars are the future" for Davor Å tern.

Written by: Franjo Dobrović Photo: www.ezadar.hr

Dragan Primorac - a former cabinet minister during the Sanader, Davor Å tern - a former Croatian Minister of the Economy, entrepreneur and currently member of the Zagreb City Assembly and a certain Siniša Žanetić - a former board member of the Karlovačka Bank, the main financier of Pliva, whose relationship with tennis player Iva Majoli was subject of many gossip columns, form the trio that, according to some unofficial sources, are among the personal choices of the Prime Minister designate Tihomir Orešković for ministerial positions in the new government of the Republic of Croatia. All three candidates of Mr. Orešković are connected to American-Israeli business circles or have been trained there like Siniša Žanetić. They are the personal choices of the PM designate Tihomir Orešković and, as we learned, are not linked to the party quotas of coalition partners HDZ and MOST for ministerial positions in the new coalition government.

Convicted together with the Å ola brothers

Siniša Žanetić was in the securities business, and gained his experience in the Karlovačka and Raiffeisen Banks, Zagreb Insurance and the Partner Bank. During his time in Karlovačka Bank, he was sentenced by the Karlovac court and fined together with Sandi Å ola and Marijana Trpčić-Reškovac because of irregularities in the allocation of loans and payments. Besides that, Karlovačka bank as a legal entity was also subject to a heavy fine. In addition, he is also mentioned in an detailed negative report of the Croatian National Bank prepared during the monitoring that was carried out in the Bank in connection with the "Mamma Mia" scandal¹.

The damage suffered by the Bank and its shareholders in the scandal was estimated at over HRK 170 million. In addition, he was a suspect under charges of money laundering through Karlovac handball club. In the course of the three years during which the Karlovačka Bank was its main sponsor, the club received around 2 million HRK. Mr. Siniša Žanetić is the current preferred candidate for the post of Finance Minister.

Missing cars

Dragan Primorac is the preferred choice of PM designate Tihomir Orešković to succeed Vesna Pusić in the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Primorac is involved in two incidental criminal lawsuits from the era of the former Prime Minister Sanader. One is related to the Croatian Standards' Institute (DZN) where a "written-off" VW Touareg SUV disappeared. The other is related to the State Intellectual Property Office (DZIV) where, allegedly, an official Audi A6 Quattro "went missing" from the official car park. In addition to the A6 Quattro, another Mercedes car disappeared from the DZIV car park through financial manipulations during the time in which Mr. Primorac was sitting in Sanader's cabinet. Both lawsuits are being dealt with by the County State Attorney's Office in Zagreb.

"Loose ends" at White Nights

According to unofficial sources, Davor Å tern is the most likely candidate of the "Canadian" PM designate for the post of Minister of the Economy. Mr. Å tern has never explained some financial "loose ends" relating to the White Nights, that is, the claims to concession contracts for Russian oil fields².

As far back as 2000, a soft-spoken Radimir ÄŒačić, a member of the Račan government, publicly predicted that "prison bars are the future" for Mr. Å tern. Davor Å tern confirmed his excellent Russian-Israeli business connections by his presence at the wedding of the housewife and novice golfer, Ms. Maja Brinar and Mr. Aaron Frenkel in Monte Carlo in 2004³. Some 700 guests invited from all around the world attended this wedding in the principality of Monaco.

The sharks are approaching...

Whether or not the church pastors congregating around Božo Petrov of MOST have any idea about the above matters should become apparent during the negotiations on the formation of the new Government between the "Patriot coalition" and the PM designate Tihomir Orešković which are due to start in a few days. It could be that the members of MOST have already received some hints in reaction to the recent disturbing announcement on the party's official Facebook page. However, the public yet has to learn whether or not these [i.e., Žanetić, Primorac and Å tern] are the approaching "sharks" to which MOST referred in its Christmas epistle⁴. All in all, the first weeks of the New Year 2016 in the political life of Croatia promise to be anything but dull. As we can see, the veteran manipulators are hoping to make a comeback to the "great game" through the new Government.

____________________________ ¹ Translator's note - More information to be found here: http://easteuropebankingdeposits.blogspot.de/2013/04/croatia-police-arrest-former-ceo-of.html

² Translator's note - More information to be found here: http://arhiva.nacional.hr/en/clanak/18202/ina-could-lose-74-million-in-the-sale-of-white-nights

³Translator's note - More information to be found here: htp://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/inside-intel-friends-in-high-places-1.278328

⁴ Translator's note - More information to be found here: http://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/1900-in-a-christmas-message-most-attacks-sdp-and-warns-hdz

Some local reporters have called Topić “Sanader’s protégé" (Sanader is already in prison). The most relevant part from the above is this: "Dragan Primorac is the preferred choice of PM designate Tihomir Orešković to succeed Vesna Pusić in the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Primorac is involved in two incidental criminal lawsuits from the era of the former Prime Minister Sanader. One is related to the Croatian Standards' Institute (DZN) where a "written-off" VW Touareg SUV disappeared. The other is related to the State Intellectual Property Office (DZIV) where, allegedly, an official Audi A6 Quattro "went missing" from the official car park. In addition to the A6 Quattro, another Mercedes car disappeared from the DZIV car park through financial manipulations during the time in which Mr. Primorac was sitting in Sanader's cabinet. Both lawsuits are being dealt with by the County State Attorney's Office in Zagreb."

Remember that, as far as we are aware, this is the subject of ongoing court cases in Croatia. Pointing this out is, based on our understanding, what got the suspended judge in a lot of trouble and then -- by association -- got SUEPO under fire.

We urge EPO staff to dig deeper into these matters. It's clear that there is something there which the EPO's top management is very much afraid of. ⬆

“Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin.”

--Dwight Eisenhower

“Injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.”

--Martin Luther King Jr.