THIS series has thus far (see parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 if still new to this series) described the nature of Croatian corruption that seemingly benefited Lufthansa at the expense of Croatians. The scandal is well known in Croatia; television networks and newspapers have long covered that. Today we continue to explain, both in English and German, the role of the EPO and the resultant questions that must arise. German media -- just like the German government -- is reluctant to touch this subject and it's easy to see why. It may signal systemic corruption which goes all the way up to the top.

We finally arrive at the part about immunity/impunity -- an aspect made particularly precarious at the EPO due to Battistelli and his cohorts.

Although Željko Topić, who is facing very serious accusations at this very moment, claims to enjoy international immunity along with his accomplices, on account of his present position at the EPO, legal experts are of the opinion that not only could he be arrested by the German police but that he could be permanently deported from Germany and subjected to legal proceedings. The experts justify this by reference to UN conventions on diplomatic immunity according to which the employees of EPO have no claim to such immunity.

In the event of a court case being opened against Željko Topić and a possible final verdict against him, he could eventually be called upon to repay all the funds acquired at the EPO. It is estimated that this could run to a total of as much as one million Euros on the basis of his employment contract of May 2012.

Obwohl sich der in diesem Augenblich schwer angeklagte Željko Topić genau wie seine Komplizen auf internationale Immunität beruft, welche seine jetzige Arbeitsstelle bei EPO berücksichtigen soll, sind Juraexperten der Meinung, daß ihm nicht nur eine Verhaftung durch die deutsche Polizei, sondern auch eine dauerhafte Abschiebung aus Deutschland und ein Gerichtsverfahren drohen. Die Experten begründen dies damit, daß laut UN-Konventionen die Angestellten von EPO kein Recht auf die geforderte Immunität haben.

Im Falle der Eröffnung eines Gerichtsverfahrens gegen Željko Topić und einer möglichen rechtskräftigen Verurteilung kann er zur Rückerstattung aller bei der EPO erworbenen Finanzmittel aufgefordert werden. Nach Schätzungen handelt es sich hierbei um einen Betrag von einer Million Euro, welcher sich aus dem Arbeitsvertrag vom Mai 2012 ergibt. ⬆