The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington accepted the lawsuit filed by Ivica Todorić against the Republic of Croatia.
As Index.hr learns, if Croatia loses that dispute, it could pay Todorić 7 to 8 billion euros. In that case, the money would be paid out of the budget because Todorić in his lawsuit accuses the state of stealing Agrokor from him with its decisions.
In this same court, Croatia recently lost a case against the Hungarian MOL. The decision of the US court will be binding and the losing party has no right to appeal it.
The Croatian government disputed the jurisdiction of the US court, but its arguments were ultimately rejected. Ivica Todorić’s lawyers in Croatia have not yet received a decision, but it is quite likely that the court declared itself competent and accepted Todorić’s lawsuit against the Republic of Croatia regarding the takeover of Agrokor.
“Ivica Todorić believes that this is certainly a step in the right direction and proof that the Croatian government’s argument that this court does not have jurisdiction over the issue of his lawsuit was completely wrong. Yes, it is a success for my client,” he points out in an interview with Index.hr. Fran Olujić.
Let us remind you that in March 2020, Todorić filed a lawsuit in Washington and requested compensation from Croatia. Todorić did not file the lawsuit as a natural person, but his Dutch companies Adria Group B.V. did so. and Adria Group Holding B.V., through which Agrokor was held.
The lawsuit is based on the thesis that these two foreign companies were forced to transfer control over Agrokor to the state and thus their investment was illegally taken away. The Croatian state forced them to do so with its decisions at the time when the government of HDZ head Andrej Plenković was solving the crisis in Agrokor.
“The court must determine whether the damage was caused and in what amounts. In the event that the decision is positive for Todorić, that amount of compensation should be in billions of euros,” says lawyer Olujić.
