Croatian Health Minister Vili Beros was arrested this Friday as part of an investigation which involves several players in the Croatian health world. The minister “rejects any criminal responsibility”.
Croatian Health Minister Vili Beros was arrested this Friday, November 15 as part of a corruption investigation, suspected of “influence peddling”, a scandal which also reportedly involves hospital directors.
Vili Beros “was arrested this morning, with two other people, as part of an operation carried out by the Office for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime” (USKOK) announced Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic at a press conference.
The minister “rejects all criminal responsibility”
A government spokesperson announced just before that the minister, in office since January 2020, had been dismissed from his position.
“Regarding the actions of the judicial authorities, as uncomfortable as they are for the government at this time, I want to say that I welcome them and that they have our full support,” the Prime Minister said.
“Beros rejects any criminal responsibility,” his lawyer Laura Valkovic explained to the media, questioned in front of the minister's home, searched in the morning according to photos published in the local press.
Arrests took place “in the region of Zagreb and Skradin (south)”, according to a USKOK press release.
The investigation concerns “criminal acts of receiving and paying bribes, criminal association and influence peddling”, said the Attorney General, Ivan Turudic, specifying that the Minister of Health was himself suspected of “influence peddling”.
Three suspects, including the minister, were arrested and were questioned Friday afternoon by an investigating judge, who will decide whether they should be placed in pre-trial detention – requested by the prosecution, according to the attorney general.
According to local media, one of the suspects is a famous neurosurgeon employed in a hospital in Zagreb, and who also runs a private clinic.
Medical devices at prices above market prices
Alongside this operation by the Croatian public prosecutor's office, the European Public Prosecutor's Office, a body created to combat fraud affecting the finances of the European Union, announced details of its own investigation.
“The European Public Prosecutor's Office in Zagreb has opened an investigation against eight people, including the Minister of Health and the directors of two hospitals in Zagreb, as well as two companies, suspected of having accepted and paid bribes, abuse of position and money laundering,” the European prosecutor’s office said. According to a press release published on its website, the facts took place from “June 2022 to November 2024”.
The suspects allegedly caused several hospitals in the country to purchase medical robotic devices at above-market prices, in exchange for bribes. They are also suspected of illegal taking of interest.
The European prosecutor's office mentions in particular the purchase of operating microscopes for three hospitals for “an unjustifiably increased price” of more than 600,000 euros, to the detriment of the Croatian state budget.
But, according to Ivan Turudic, this is a “parallel” investigation of which the Croatian judicial authorities have not been informed. The prosecutor also accused the European Public Prosecutor's Office of not having respected the “principle of loyal cooperation”, namely of informing the country's authorities of its investigation.
Croatia has long struggled to contain the rampant corruption plaguing the country, with the health sector infamous for regular bribes paid to doctors and civil servants.
Several ministers from the Prime Minister's conservative party (HDZ) have already resigned in the past after accusations of corruption. Vili Beros was appointed after the dismissal in January 2020 of his predecessor, Milan Kujundzic, due to a matter linked to his undeclared assets.
