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RAPAPORT... Vladimir Zagorec, the former assistant defense minister in Croatia, was arrested overnight March 14, 2007 in Vienna, Austria, on charges of smuggling $5 million in diamonds. An international arrest warrant had been issued by a district court in Zagreb, Croatia, on March 9, and Judge Erna Drazancic opened a formal investigation against the accused after Zagorec failed to appear in court.
Charges against Zagorec include seizing diamonds, rubies, and emeralds and millions in cash and allegedly depositing them at the Defense Ministry as collateral from an arms dealer in Germany to purchase weapons during the 1991-1995 war during the break-up of Yugoslavia. One witness claimed that Zagorec took the stash after the war ended.
Zagorec has been living in Vienna since year 2000 and his attorney Kresimir Krsnik claims the arrest was politically motivated.
Croatia's authorities have pledged to uncover all wartime misuse of funds. President Stipe Mesic said the case was important for Croatia. "Now we have to discover the whole network and I believe that we can," he told HINA news.
It is expected that Zagorec would now be extradited to face charges in Zagreb.
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