Former Croatian Minister Admits to Exam Fixing

The news in Croatian

1. priznati
   javno izreći da je nešto istina ili da je netko nešto učinio ↩︎
2. nelegalan
   koji nije u skladu sa zakonom ↩︎
3. ispit  (m.)
   provjera znanja ili sposobnosti putem pisanih ili usmenih zadataka ↩︎
4. uvjetan
   koji vrijedi ili se provodi samo pod određenim uvjetima ↩︎
5. pravni
   koji se odnosi na pravo ili zakon ↩︎
6. sumnjiv
   koji izaziva sumnju, koji nije pouzdan ili siguran ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: What did Gabrijela Žalac admit to doing illegally?

Question 2: What punishment did Gabrijela Žalac receive for her actions?

Vocabulary

Croatian	English
priznati	to admit
nelegalan	illegal
ispit  (m.)	exam
uvjetan	conditional
pravni	legal
sumnjiv	suspicious

Read the full story

Gabrijela Žalac, a former Croatian Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, has struck a deal with the national anti-corruption office, USKOK, admitting to illegally arranging a state exam for her brother in 2019. This agreement with USKOK grants Žalac a suspended one-year jail sentence, conditional over a three-year period, along with the obligation to cover 1,000 euros in court costs.

In 2019, Žalac facilitated her brother’s exam passage with the assistance of Josipa Rimac, a former state secretary. Her brother, Ivan Ivanković, has continued holding a prominent position within the Zagreb city administration. Ivanković was not charged and remains involved in significant city projects.

Simultaneously, Nikola Šulentić, a former director at HEP, also settled with USKOK. He arranged a job for Rimac’s sister, earning him a suspended nine-month jail term and a 10,000 euro court cost obligation.

The admissions come amidst bigger legal concerns for Žalac, who is negotiating with European prosecutors over a separate charge related to the suspected overpayment for ministry software in 2018. The software, paid for by Žalac’s ministry, was allegedly overpriced by over a million euros. She and several associates are accused of causing significant financial damage to both EU and Croatian budgets.

Žalac’s case has drawn attention not just because of the exam scandal, but also due to her ongoing negotiations with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) regarding additional allegations of fraudulently inflated government contracts.

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