Foreign Ministry state secretary Frano Matušić said on Thursday that no state authority or the government had known anything about or been involved in a transaction with Fortenova shares.
Croatia will request from others all it can "so that we can be sure that there has been no violation of the sanctions regime," he told the press.
Asked if an Arab investor might be a cover for Russian capital to remain in Fortenova, Matušić said it was possible and that this was why the transaction must be investigated.
Given that Fortenova is based in Croatia, whether ownership was transferred and if money was indeed paid must be investigated, he added.
Matušić said that since Russia's Sberbank was put on a sanctions list, it was prohibited to dispose of its assets, with certain exceptions, such as those ensured by the Croatian government, which means that it was possible to buy Sberbank's stake in Fortenova until 31 October.
There were two such requests, one from Indotech, which was received via Fortenova and which we have been processing, requesting additional explanations, Matušić said. Under the second request, he added, Croatian pension funds would have bought Sberbank's stake and become co-owners in Fortenova.
All approvals were "very" concrete and given on time so that the transaction could go through, but the AZ pension fund did not agree to the transaction, which put the approvals out of force, he said.
We are looking into what we can do in cooperation with other states' relevant authorities due to the involvement of the Dutch company Kroll, which is the depositary and disposes of the transferable shares, Marušić said, adding that ownership can be transferred only via Kroll.
Approval for the transfer of ownership is also required for a transaction between United Arab Emirates investors, he said.
Neither Russia nor the UAE are obligated to comply with the sanctions, but all those operating in the EU are, so we expect answers, first and foremost from the relevant Dutch authorities, as to whether the required approval exists, Matušić added.
There is a link between Kroll and relevant English authorities, so they will be contacted, too, first and foremost regarding details, he said.
We are also investigating if the EU sanctions regime has been violated, which would carry "certain consequences," he added.
Fortenova Group's operations are normal, he said, adding that today he will meet with the Security and Intelligence Agency, but he does not think that a Croatian citizen has been involved in this case.
Text: Hina/MFEA
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