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Trial of Hungarian energy group CEO postponed in Croatia

Xinhua, February 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

A trial of the CEO of the Hungarian energy group MOL, Zsolt Hernadi, at a Zagreb court was postponed because the case file has not been returned by the Croatian Supreme Court after Hernadi's appeal, local media report on Friday.

Hernadi was charged with bribing former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, who was sentenced to 8 and a half years in prison by Croatian Supreme Court in 2014, to help the MOL gain management rights in Croatia's oil and gas company INA.

After a preliminary hearing in December last year, Hernadi's lawyers requested that certain documents and evidence be translated from Croatian into Hungarian, claiming Hernadi, to be tried in absentia, has the right to have the basic documentation in a language he understood.

After the Zagreb court refused, the lawyers appealed to the supreme court and its decision is still being awaited.

Hernadi was accused by the Croatian state attorney office (DORH) of giving around 10 million euros to former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader in 2009.

DORH started to investigate the whole case in 2011 and has demanded that Hernadi be interrogated in June 2011. Hungarian prosecutor'office refused that, citing that information on MOL's acquisition of INA would "harm Hungary's national interests".

DORH put Hernadi on Interpol's wanted list and issued the European arrest warrant in October 2013, while Hernadi refused to turn himself in, claiming his innocence.

Zagreb county court started the trial in his absence in June 2014.

Meanwhile Croatian government and MOL started a long-lasting negotiating on the management rights over INA. Last round of negotiations fell through in July 2014.

MOL sued Croatia in November 2013 before the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington, claiming it broke the agreement on gas production, while Croatia sued MOL over the management rights before International Chamber of Commerce in Paris in January 2014, claiming that their rights derived from the agreement made through corruption activities.

MOL had 22.15 percent of INA's shares in October 2008 and have a leverage in controlling the company by signed a shareholder agreement with Croatia in January 2009.

MOL now owns 49.1 percent shares of the Croatian biggest energy company, while the Croatian government owns 44.84 percent shares. Endtiem