Croatia Detains Five People Suspected Of Cheating Oil And Gas Firm INA

A court in Zagreb has ordered five people to be kept in custody for a month for questioning over a suspected fraudulent trade deal that lost Croatia's oil and gas firm INA 1 billion kuna ($132 million), local media said on Monday.

Anti-corruption authorities arrested the five, including an INA manager, on Saturday over the formation of a company accused of receiving low-priced supplies from mid-2020 to mid-2022 then selling them abroad for a huge profit.

The gang made gains of 800 million kuna, which they invested in property, Croatia's USKOK anti-fraud agency said.

INA's largest shareholder is Hungarian oil and gas company MOL with 49.08%, while the Croatian government holds 44.84% and the rest belongs to small shareholders.

Economy Minister Davor Filipovic was holding an urgent meeting with the firm on Monday. "INA management will have to give us many answers," Filipovic told reporters, saying he had no knowledge of the contracts when on the supervisory board.

There was no immediate comment from INA or MOL.

($1 = 7.5510 kuna)