The Office of the Croatian Chief State Prosecutor (DORH) stated on Monday that it was cooperating intensively with the Austrian authorities in probing disputable loans granted by Hypo Alpe Adria Group to companies and individuals in Croatia.
DORH said in a statement that it was cooperating excellently with Austrian agencies in efforts to check the flows of money which is believed to have been unlawfully appropriated by a number of people from funds designated for Croatia's defence and its post-war reconstruction.
The cooperation in this direction has been intensified since early 2010, the statement reads.
Three days ago, Wolfgang Kulterer, a former Hypo Alpe Adria Bank management board president, was arrested on suspicion of malfeasance and embezzlement.
Kulterer, who was transferred to pre-trial detention on Sunday, is suspected of having okayed the issuance of risky loans, some of which were granted in Croatia.
Kulterer had to resign in 2006 when unreported losses of the bank were discovered.
Commenting on Kulterer's arrest, Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said on Saturday that given various information that had surfaced in the past years, special attention had to be attached to financial wrongdoing.
It is important to us to get to the bottom of things, Kosor said.
"I am confident that the Chief State Prosecutor's Office and other Croatian institutions will be included in the case. I am confident that this time we will get answers relatively fast. The government eagerly awaits answers," Kosor said.
