President Milanović on JANAF Case: Why did they wait ten months before taking action?
After attending an event marking National Day to Combat Violence against Women, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović commented on the oil pipeline operator JANAF case. Responding to questions from reporters, he explained that he did not know anything about the investigation in the JANAF case until a few days ago, that the SOA (Security and Intelligence Agency) did not inform him about it because it did not even know about the investigation, and he asked why the Government reappointed Dragan Kovačević to head JANAF in February 2020 and why the DORH (State Attorney’s Office) and USKOK (anti-corruption office) waited ten months to end the investigation.
“If the President does not comment on investigations, no one will. There is no one who can protect common sense. And there is no one who is less invited to comment on investigations than an active judge. A situation in which someone who is not elected by anyone comments on me or on anyone who has a parliamentary mandate is unsustainable. We have seen this in the investigation and now in the case of the judge. Those who thought they would shut me up are of course beside themselves. It is known who is leading the investigations, and that is the DORH, it is known who is informed, the head of the DORH, the Minister of the Interior and the Prime Minister. I was Prime Minister and I know all about that, so there are no secrets for me in that world. The SOA did not inform me because the SOA did not know about the investigation. This job was led by the USKOK and criminal police; the Minister of the Interior knows all about it, the Prime Minister knows all about it,” said President Milanović.
The President said that one should ask what was happening on 11 November 2019, when he was in the midst of the presidential campaign, and not about his relationship with Dragan Kovačević, “a man I have known for 20 years.”
“I don’t know anything, but I sensed something, I have experience. When the DORH gave information to the media, in a criminal way, after the first stage of the investigation… that is unacceptable. This is not about me; it is about the people who perhaps deserve to be punished. It can’t go on like this. When I found out how long the investigation went on, how long people were tracked, at what time certain actions took place, when they tracked that businessman with the money he picked up at the bank and went to hand it over – corpus delicti. It is known what should be done at that moment – the investigation is to be terminated, unless the target of the investigation is the Prime Minister, and he is not. And if not, then you are protecting someone. They avoided doing their job, only to terminate the investigation 10 months later. What was being done for 10 months? Who will ask, if not me,” questioned President Milanović.
As for the information, published in the media, that Jakov Kitarović, husband of the former Croatian President, was seen at the gathering where the bribe was given, President Milanović said: “I see no problem in Jakov Kitarović. He has nothing to do with it. But who were they targeting and aiming at, if not someone who gives the director of a company two million kunas in bribes?”
When asked again if the director of the SOA should have informed him that certain measures were being taken concerning Dragan Kovačević, President Milanović replied: “The director of the SOA didn’t know about this. Only the Ministry of the interior and the Prime Minister could have informed me. Did the Minister of the Interior inform the Prime Minister? Did he inform him as to why the investigation lasted nine months? Should he have been appointed for another term and then asked to tender his resignation? My job is to warn if something is illogical, of fraudsters and thieves. Track and arrest, as otherwise the evidence will expire. The address is the Government and the Ministry of the Interior – they should be asked what is happening.”
The President of the Republic emphasized that this is “a terrible scandal.” “I am not pointing a finger at anyone, I am just asking questions. The DORH and USKOK are conducting an investigation, why was no action taken? That is the real question,” said the President. He remarked that the Minister of the Interior and the Prime Minister must know everything, otherwise “we have a country that is being led by several people in the DORH.” “You don’t want such a country. The Prime Minister knows everything there is to know. When I was Prime Minister, I knew everything I needed to know,” President Milanović underscored.
“As a citizen, I expect that you will summarize all these questions that I asked and pose them to those who are indeed accountable and relevant, and who made the decision to track someone with two million kunas and then at one point say – oh well, we’ll deal with that in ten months,” the President of the Republic told reporters.