Croatia’s PM fires health minister arrested in corruption probe

Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has fired Health Minister Vili Beroš after he was arrested on suspicion of corruption as part of a European Union investigation.

Eight individuals — including Beroš and the directors of two hospitals in the capital Zagreb — and two companies are suspected of “accepting and giving bribes, abuse of position and authority and money laundering,” the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said in a statement on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday after Croatia’s Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) announced that it was conducting several arrests, Plenković said his government would not protect anyone from prosecution who was suspected of committing criminal acts.

“I am appalled by the idea that anyone in the health system would use their position for personal gains or for favors to anyone else,” said Plenković, who was re-elected in April as the head of the conservative pro-European HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) party.

“The health system is a particularly sensitive department,” he said.

Beroš’ lawyer Laura Valković said he denied any wrongdoing. The health ministry has not commented on the investigation.

‘Undue financial gains’

Croatia has long been dogged by systemic and political corruption, and it is often ranked by international anti-graft organisations as one of the most corrupt countries in the EU.

According to the EPPO — which is the EU’s independent public prosecutors’ office — five of the suspects had worked together since June 2022 to secure “undue financial gains” for two companies by promising and giving money to relevant stakeholders.

In one case, their aim was to ensure that a specific company could sell medical robotic devices to several hospitals for inflated prices by manipulating the public procurement process to exclude any other market competition.

The EPPO said that a criminal group seeking to secure financing for the sale of medical robotic devices in several hospitals was suspected of giving bribes to officials to try to win contracts for projects, including EU funded ones.

“Other suspects offered and handed over bribes to several relevant stakeholders in the public health system, including the minister of health and the directors of two hospitals, to gain their support for different contracts” funded by the EU or Croatia’s national budget, said the EPPO statement.

In three cases, Beroš allegedly approved the purchase of microscopes in hospitals in Zagreb at prices that were inflated by €620,000 in exchange for a bribe, the EPPO said.

Croatia’s State Attorney Ivan Turudić criticised the EU prosecutors for not informing his office nor USKOK about its investigation. Turudić said that he would decide who is responsible for the entire case.

The EPPO stated that it suspected Beroš of receiving bribes, while Turudić said Croatian investigators are accusing him of the lesser crime of “influence peddling”.

Two other people have been arrested and one legal entity is to be investigated on suspicion of receiving a bribe, according to Turudić.

Additional sources • AP