On Wednesday, the indictment panel of the Zagreb County Court confirmed the indictment against former Director General of the Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT), Kazimir Bačić, and businessman Milan Lončarić for bribery related to influence peddling and trading in influence in the “Vrtovi svjetla” (Gardens of Light) affair.

According to the USKOK indictment, Lončarić, from March 2020 until 29 June 2021, agreed with Bačić, with whom he is also related, that Bačić would use his influence to mediate with the then Mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandić, in order to obtain the necessary permits for legalising already constructed buildings and carrying out works on properties owned by Lončarić.

The indictment further alleges that Lončarić arranged for Bačić to use his influence and authority as Director General of HRT, an important client of commercial banks in Croatia, to intervene with banks to secure loans under the most favourable terms to finance his projects.

In return, Lončarić allegedly agreed to reward Bačić and the then Zagreb mayor Milan Bandić, who has since passed away.

In order to implement the agreement, the indictment states that Bačić repeatedly asked Bandić to use his authority to intervene with officials at the City Institute for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage to issue the necessary approvals and decisions allowing construction works on properties owned by Lončarić.

Bačić accused of delivering €50.000 in bribes to Bandić on Lončarić’s behalf
According to the indictment, Lončarić, through Bačić, handed €50.000 to then mayor Bandić, while Bandić personally, and through the director of the Zagreb Institute for Spatial Planning, requested that the head of the City Institute for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage comply with the requests submitted by Lončarić’s company.

USKOK claims that Bandić demanded that Lončarić’s requests be approved regardless of regulatory conditions, and that documents be issued to legalise an illegal extension on a building located in a protected cultural zone in Zagreb, thereby obtaining a benefit for Lončarić’s company.

The case concerns a palace in Žerjavićeva Street, a protected cultural monument, as well as the premises of the former Electric Light Bulb Factory (TEŽ), which had once been owned by Lončarić.

Furthermore, at Lončarić’s request, Bandić allegedly asked the head of the City Office for Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection to falsely state that the TEŽ tower needed to be removed due to damage from the earthquake, although there was no basis for such a claim, in order to revoke the complex’s cultural heritage status and increase construction opportunities for the “Vrtovi svjetla” project.

The indictment also states that Bačić used his influence in banks to help Lončarić obtain favourable loans to finance the “Vrtovi svjetla” project. In return, the businessman allegedly rewarded the HRT Director General by purchasing and furnishing an apartment in Zagreb worth at least €135,510, an apartment in Radićeva Street that investigators searched on the day of the arrest.