Criminal Investigation Under Way at Elan

15. 09. 2011

Criminal Investigation Under Way at Elan


A criminal investigation is under way at the headquarters of Elan, the sports goods manufacturer, in Begunje na Gorenjskem, on suspicion of abuse of office. Three people have been detained, unofficially including chairman Robert Ferko.

 

The National Bureau of Investigation and police are conducting searches at 12 locations in the areas of Ljubljana, Kranj and Koper on suspicion of corporate crime, the STA was told by the General Police Administration.Several individuals and legal entities are suspected of several counts of abuse of office or trust in connection to a bonus payment and the sale of real estate or movable property.

 

 

 

Three persons have been detained, who are suspected of causing over EUR 300,000 in damage to a company based in Gorenjsko, police spokesperson Drago Menegalija said. According to daily Dnevnik, Ferko is among them.The search has been under way at the management's offices since 7 AM, while production and work processes are running normally, Elan spokesperson Nina Sarabon has told the STA.

 

Sarabon has not been informed of the reasons for the search and could neither confirm nor deny Ferko's alleged detention, but she did say that the chairman did not turn up at work today.Tipped off by a former member of the company's supervisory board, the Corruption Prevention Commission examined suspicious dealings at the company in July.

 

 

 

These allegedly included a contentious EUR 80,000 money order to the recruitment agency A.S.O., the alleged reason of which was a bonus payment to Ferko for the past year.Ferko later explained that the order was a technical error, which had already been amended.

 

The supervisors, who collectively resigned in June over differences with the management, also accused Ferko of an attempted buyout of Elan's subsidiary in Austria.The allegation was also targeted against the chairman of the supervisory board Stojan Nikolic, who defended Ferko against the accusations.

 

Source: Slovenia times

 

Criminal Investigation Under Way at Elan