Croatia — a Member of NATO and the EU Ranked as Most Corrupt Country in Eastern Europe — Vladimir Putin’s Russia falls behind

Research Reveals Hemorrhaging of Billions in Illicit Financial Outflows Via Crime, Corruption and Tax Evasion and Its Adverse Impact on GDP.

Croatia—Most corrupt country in Eastern Europe — Putin’s Russia falls behind. Illicit financial outflows via crime, corruption and tax evasion during the years 2005–2014 and its impact on the 2014 GDP.

Washington, DC /Rijeka , Croatia— While the Western world’s top justice officials and leadership focus on rampant corruption in Russia, the Balkan country of Croatia, a member of the European Union and NATO has the dubious honor of being ranked the most corrupt Eastern European nation. Vladimir Putin’s Russia falls behind.

Based on reports presented by Global Financial Integrity, International Leaders Summit, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank — Croatia’s illicit financial outflows via crime, corruption and tax evasion was more than $35.6 billion for the years 2005–2014, amounting to 62% of the country’s 2014 GDP. During the same period (2005–2014), Russia’s illicit financial outflows were at $1.1 trillion, amounting to 53 % of the 2014 GDP.

The European Union has led a robust campaign to address corruption in Romania. On July 27, 2019, a report stated, “Romania has made “very little progress” to prevent corruption in its government, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body said in two critical reports released on Tuesday.”

Romania’s illicit financial outflows via crime, corruption and tax evasion for the same period amounted to $27.7 billion, 14 % of the nation’s 2014 GDP. Croatia’s population stands at 4 million while Romania has 19.5 million citizens.

Croatia — A member of the EU and NATO is more corrupt than Russia. Figures from Global Financial Integrity, International Leaders Summit and International Monetary Fund.

Focusing on Rampant Corruption in Croatia

Ivo Sanader is the only highest-ranking official tried for corruption in Croatia and was sentenced to jail for other corruption related crimes.

However, the rest of the HDZ and SDP politicians with unexplained wealth their private partners in crime have not been convicted by Croatia’s politically influenced prosecutors and a parlous judicial system.

City Mayors including Zagreb’s Milan Bandic and Rijeka’s Vojko Obersnel and other senior officials mired in corruption allegations have not been held to account by a politically influenced judiciary.

Since Croatia’s independence in 1991, the country’s two major political parties Croatian Democratic Union — Hrvatska demokratska zajednica (HDZ) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) have rotated in power, brazenly blocking fundamental judicial reforms and falsifying progress and other reports to Western and EU institutions monitoring the Balkan nation.

The Economist’s Edward Lucas stated, “Soggy bottom: Croatia’s sullen and obstructive approach to pluralism, media freedom and the rule of law remains an alarming pothole on the road to further EU enlargement. Nobody wants to upset the murky and convenient status quo.”

The observation appeared in the The Economist’s print edition of January 4, 2007.

The Failure of the West’s “Trust and Verification” Process

Croatia, a nation of 4 million people, entered the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on April 1, 2009 and joined the European Union (EU) on July 1, 2013. Both NATO and the EU communicate a commitment to the rule of law, freedom and democratic principles. The EU taxpayer aid package to Croatia for the years 2014–2020 totals €12.7 billion.

An anti-corruption trial, named “Fimi Media” focused on a PR agency which was used by then-Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and the HDZ political party embezzling millions of euros from state-owned companies to finance the party and enrich its politicians. These funds benefited senior HDZ politicians. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, now president of Croatia and running for re-election, has been a top HDZ official.

On the HDZ — Fimi Media trial, the presiding judge Ivana Calic stated,

“This sentence is a message that political corruption is evil, that abuse of power to extract personal material or other benefits is shameful, is not tolerated and, in the end of the day, does not pay back. The first defendant [Sanader], with his behaviour, showed an attitude which is not an exception today in the political and public life, which is that there is a perception that politicians are above the law. In the period of the crime [the end of 2003 — January 2009], the legal entity HDZ was in power which means that because of a majority in the Sabor [parliament] it adopted laws, governed the state and its repressive apparatus among others. When this and such a legal entity violates the laws, it undermines the foundations of the rule of law because everyone should ask themselves what message is this to the citizens when those in power violate the laws but those who have elected them are required to obey them”.

In the first Fimi media trial in 2014, Sanader’s prison sentenced was overturned by the Supreme Court ordering a retrial.

Croatia’s Parlous Judicial System

Over 600,000 back-logged court cases for a nation of 4 million, some stuck in the system for over a decade. In the 2019 EU Justice Scoreboard released in May 20, 2019, shows Croatia with the highest number of judges in the entire European Union per 100,000 inhabitants, yet, with the worst results when it comes to gaining the trust of the public, affirming integrity and independence of the courts and standing for the rule of law. The poorly funded Croatian State Prosecutor’s Office for the Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption of Bureau for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK) is also hampered by the significant limits imposed on the investigative body through a politically influenced system.

Relevant Graphs from the 2019 EU Justice Scoreboard