President Ivo Josipovic said on Friday that the constitutional changes preventing crimes of war profiteering and privatisation-related crimes from falling under the statute of limitations should have been adopted earlier, but that there had been no political will for it.
An audit of 50 per cent of privatised companies shows that the state's capital was reduced by 2 billion euros, while that of privately-owned companies was reduced by 500 million euros, 370,000 people were laid off, 22 per cent of companies went into receivership, and only 75 of the 1,556 companies were privatised in accordance with the law, Josipovic said at a symposium on the reform of criminal legislation in Zagreb.
Justice Minister Drazen Bosnjakovic said that the bill providing for the seizure of property acquired by commission of a crime was about to go into second reading in Parliament, adding that seizure of such property would be easier because the state would automatically become its owner upon rendering of a final court judgement.
The new law on criminal procedure is to become effective on September 1, 2011.
