Austria, Germany suspend arrest warrant for MOL chief

Zagreb (MTI) – Austria and Germany have suspended the arrest warrant for Zsolt Hernádi, chairman-chief executive of Hungarian oil and gas company MOL, the Austrian office of Interpol told the Croatian office on Thursday.

Croatia, which requested the European warrant, accuses Hernádi of having bribed the former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader with 10 million euros to obtain a majority stake in Croatian oil firm INA.

Unofficial sources said that Austria and Germany suspended the warrant on the grounds of double jeopardy, a defence that forbids a defendant from being tried again for the same charges following an acquittal. Sources said Hungarian officials have informed German and Austrian prosecutors that the Budapest Court of Appeals cleared Hernádi of the bribery charges last December.

Croatia’s interior ministry said it demands further explanation from Austria and Germany.

Hernádi’s Croatian attorney, Goran Mikulicic, told Croatian news agency HINA that he did not know about the decision to suspend the arrest warrant for his client, noting that this was the individual decision of Germany and Austria’s judicial authorities. He said the decision did not violate international law because every country has a right to decide whether it will comply with a European arrest warrant

Photo: Daily News Hungary

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters