Interpol issues arrest warrant for former head of Croatian skiing Vedran Pavlek

(Patria) - Croatian Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović confirmed last night that Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for the former head of the Croatian Ski Federation (HSS) Vedran Pavlek.

Pavlek is currently in Turkey and unavailable to Croatian authorities, and is linked to the withdrawal of almost 30 million euros from the HSS.

- This is now a matter of the ongoing procedure, an Interpol arrest warrant has been issued, and this information is available to all Interpol member states and visible through the European Arrest Warrant system - said Božinović.

In an interview with Dnevnik Nove TV, Božinović explained that the process will then follow with the Turkish authorities, and once a decision on extradition is made - then the handover will occur.

Asked how the handover would look, the minister said it is a matter of police procedure that will be handled by the Croatian police in this specific case.

An investigating judge of the County Court in Zagreb, at the proposal of USKOK, ordered a one-month pre-trial detention for Pavlek and four others out of a total of six suspects for withdrawing almost 30 million euros from the HSS.

As learned in court, Pavlek, who is in Turkey, was ordered into pre-trial detention due to flight risk, then due to the risk of influencing witnesses, and the risk of re-offending.

USKOK prosecutor Tonći Petković confirmed that Pavlek is on the run and that the prosecution will, after receiving the pre-trial detention order, initiate an arrest warrant and actions to bring him to Croatia as a defendant in this procedure.