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The Institute for Ethics and Economic
Policy (IEEP) |
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Croatian foreign
minister resigns. Following a
stem of accusations on corruption, Croatian Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul has
resigned. Zuzul, is accused of receiving bribes and has denied all charges. Zuzul have said that did not want to
become a burden to the government now that High
Society arrests. It was reported that a former foreign
minister and a prominent businessman have been charged on corruption. The
former foreign minister is suspected of seeking a bribe for his mediation in
a financial transaction. According a report, accusations of corruption are
commonplace in Former Croat minister arrested.
Former Croatian Foreign Affairs Minister Mate Granic was arrested on
suspicion of corrupt dealings. According to a statement from the Interior
Ministry, Granic was arrested together with former diplomat Darinko Bago. (B
92 68% BELIEVE CORRUPTION WIDESPREAD An opinion poll on a sample of 1,000 citizens conducted by Transparency International Croatia in May revealed that almost 68% of Croatian citizens found corruption common in Croatia with the health system, judiciary and local government offices topped the list. 46.2% believe that no progress has been made so far as current situation is at the same level as it was three years ago; 30% think that there is more corrupt and 20% said it was less. More than half of interviewees (54.6%) lose their faith in ministers and their deputies; but 47% believe their president's stainlessness (17% suspected him of corruption), 39.8% trust their prime minister (25% think prime minister corrupt). 92% believe that state officials need to turn in their property report each year and that all information of general importance should be available to the public. (BBC Morning Service 06 Jun 2003, summary by Hanh Vu).
HAJDUK OFFICIALS FACE CORRUPTION CHARGES After three years of investigation into Haijduk , one of Croatia's leading soccer clubs, last Friday, state prosecutor in the coastal city of Split where Hajduk is based, re1eased two separate indictment on 10 former senior officials of Haijduk for embezzlement and evasion of taxes totaling 226m. kuna ($31m.) although all denied any wrongdoing. The investigation began following widespread rumors that the club was heading toward bankruptcy because of wide-scale corruption in the top-level management. A trial date was not immediately set and no arrest warrants were issued. (AP 12 Apr 2003, summary by Hanh Vu)
SMALL BUSINESSES ARE CORRUPTION`S BIGGEST VICTIMS Despite
some positive effects in the struggle against corruption, as many as 86
percent of Croatian businesses interviewed admittedly have encountered
corruption either as victims or eyewitnesses. Corruptions evidently have set a firm foothold in every corner
in
AUTOMOBILE SMUGGLING WITH THE CONSENT OF OFFICIALS. M-Power Ltd. is a completely unknown Croatian company, which from 1995 to 1998 imported over 100 new all terrain vehicles and expensive automobiles (Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler, Nissan, Land Rover etc) without paying the appropriate import taxes and customs. Croatian Intelligence Agencies, members of the American CIA, the SFOR, the Customs ranks, the Internal Affairs Ministry (MUP), the Finance Ministry, the Privatization Fund (HFP), the BiH Internal Affairs Ministry and of course, M-Power, seem to be involved in the scandal. The Finance Ministry with a retroactive decision exempted the import company from paying customs. The decision applied to 35 imported vehicles worth over $1.2 million. The automobiles were under the direct surveillance of HIS director Miroslav Tudjman and his deputy, Zarko Pesa. The import of the vehicles into Croatia took place secretly in 1995 through a military port in Split and the Split Airport. Additionally, the Finance Ministry offered the import company an exemption from paying future taxes on the imports. The cargo ("Motor vehicles for special purposes" according to the official exemption papers) was treated as equipment imported on the basis of the role of a foreign party. That foreign party was the company "Hanley Gundersen Lines" from Baltimore, USA. (Source: Nacional, November 16, 2000, summary by Pavlidis George).
The Index of Economic Freedom (by Driscoll-Holmes-Kirkpatrick) for 2001 places Croatia in the “Mostly Unfree” category with a rank of 106 (Ranks range from 1 for Hong Kong to 155 for North Korea, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 1, 2000). H. D. Vinod’s trimmed correlation analysis indicates that countries free from economic regulation are less corrupt. After allowing for some exceptions by 20% trimming, the correlation is near 0.9. |
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Design:
Theo den Brinker |
Copyright:
Hrishikesh D. Vinod 2000 |
Last
Updated: |
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