Slovenian mayor Zoran Jankovic sued for abuse of office

Zoran Jankovic, mayor of Ljubljana and well-known businessman in Slovenia, is facing trial for suspected abuse of office, the Ljubljana district prosecutor's office said on Monday.

Jankovic, also former chief executive officer of retailer Mercator, was charged together with two other suspects, having gained 100,000 euros (131,337 U.S. dollars) illegally during Mercator's 2005 acquisition of building land for a shopping centre in the Serbian town of Nis.

Jankovic and the co-defendants denied the charges after the indictment was filed with the Ljubljana District Court in April.

The indictment contained no proof that Jankovic was guilty of abuse of office. Jankovic did not even sign the disputed contract, Slovenian Press Agency quoted Jankovic's lawyer Aleksander Ceferin as reporting.

However, the court has rejected the defendants' appeal. It is not known when they will appear in court.

Jankovic received questioning by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in January after he was alleged to have misbehaviors in the construction of the largest sports complex in the country.

Jankovic insisted at the time that he had no irregularities in a lease contract with the Ljubljana municipality that enabled a loan to the builder of the Stozice sports complex.

The January judicial investigation into Jankovic's duty behavior was the second of its kind since September 2013 which saw the Slovenian law enforcement department having searched the mayor's home and office in City Hall.

Jankovic, 61, began taking Ljubljana mayorship in October 2006. He was the first mayor of Ljubljana to have served two terms since the end of World War II.

Located in Ljubljana, the Stozice sports complex is a state-of-the-art indoor arena which can seat about 12,000 spectators. It was put into operation in August 2010. Enditem