Directorul grupului MOL, Zsolt Hernadi, acuzat de mita in CroatiaMOL Group’s Highest Official Charged With Bribery

Un tribunal din Zagreb a ordonat arestarea directorului general de la compania petroliera ungara MOL, Zsolt Hernadi, care este suspectat ca l-a mituit pe fostul premier croat Ivo Sanader, pentru a obtine controlul la compania petroliera croata INA, transmite agentia croata HINA.

Potrivit HINA, tribunalul a cerut arestarea lui Zsolt Hernadi la propunerea departamentul anticoruptie, USKOK. In aceste conditii, un mandat pentru arestarea lui Hernadi poate fi emis.

HINA a adaugat ca procuratura a cerut arestarea lui Hernadi dupa ce Ungaria a respins, pentru a doua oara, cererea Croatiei de a-l interoga pe directorul MOL ca suspect in cazul de mita ce priveste preluarea controlului la INA de catre compania MOL.

In anul 2003, Croatia a vandut 25% din actiunile companiei petroliere INA catre MOL, iar ulterior a permis firmei ungare sa-si majoreze participatia pana la aproape 50% si, de asemenea, sa preia controlul managerial la firma croata. In ultimii ani, au aparut, insa, tensiuni intre MOL si guvernul croat, care detine 44,8% din actiunile INA, in conditiile in care autoritatile de la Zagreb acuza firma ungara ca nu a investit suficient in INA, iar MOL reactioneaza spunand ca, la randul ei, Croatia nu a respectat promisiunea de a vinde operatiunile INA cu pierderi din domeniul gazelor.

De asemenea, anul trecut, fostul premier croat Ivo Sanader a fost gasit vinovat pentru ca a primit cinci milioane de euro de la MOL in schimbul carora a permis firmei ungare sa dobandeasca o pozitie dominanta la INA.

Grupul Mol este o companie multinationala integrata si independenta, cu sediul central in Budapesta, Ungaria. Are operatiuni in peste 40 de tari si aproximativ 30.000 de angajati in intreaga lume. Compania detine, de asemenea, o retea de peste 1.700 de benzinarii in Europa Centrala si de Sud-Est. Grupul opereaza o retea de conducte de gaze naturale de inalta presiune de peste 5.800 kilometri in Ungaria.A court in Zagreb ordered the arrest of Mr. Zsolt Hernadi, Chairman & CEO of MOL Group, the Hungarian oil company. Mr. Hernadi has allegedly bribed the former prime minister of Croatia, Mr. Ivo Sanader, to gain control over the Croatian oil company INA, according to the Croatian news agency HINA.

The court requested the arrest in response to the bid of the Croatian Anti-corruption Department, USKOK. This opens the legal possibility for issuing an arrest warrant for Mr. Hernadi.

The prosecutors asked for Mr. Hernadi’s arrest after Hungary rejected for the second time Croatia’s request to interrogate the Chairman & CEO of MOL Group as a suspect in the bribery case related to the takeover of INA by MOL.

In 2003, Croatia sold 25% of the shares of the oil company INA to MOL Group, and subsequently allowed the Hungarian company to increase its share to nearly 50% and to take charge of the management of the Croatian company. For some years now, tensions occurred between MOL and the Croatian government, who holds 44.8% of the INA shares, and MOL reacted by accusing Croatia of breaching its promise to sell the loss-generating gas operations of INA.

Furthermore, last year, the former Croatian PM Ivo Sander was found guilty of accepting €5mn from MOL, in exchange of allowing the Hungarian company to reach a dominant position within INA.

MOL Group is an integrated, independent multinational with its headquarters in Budapest, Hungary. It operates in more than 40 countries and has approximately 30,000 employees worldwide. It also owns a network of more than 1,7000 gas stations in Central and South-Eastern Europe. It operates a network of high-pressure natural gas pipelines of over 5,800 kilometers in Hungary.