HDZ Candidate and Hospital Commission Member Arrested in Corruption Probe

November the 3rd, 2026 – Vladimir Ovčarić, HDZ local candidate and head of the Technical and Service Activities Department of the Zabok General Hospital and Croatian Veterans’ Hospital, has been arrested in a wider corruption probe. Ovčarić is also particularly active in local politics and holds positions in the Krapina Hunting Society. Index reports that as was shown by the official election results for Krapina, HDZ’s Ovčarić was the lead candidate of the joint HDZ and Zagorje Party list for the Podgora Local Committee in the elections for local committee councils back in May 2025. politics, hunting and hospital fire brigade president His list won 291 votes, or 42.61 percent, and three seats on the seven-member local committee council. Alongside Ovčarić, Slavko Vincelj and Marijo Družinec were elected. At the constitutive session held on 9 June 2025, Ovčarić was elected deputy president of the Podgora Local Committee Council, while Tomislav Pernjek from the SDP list was elected president. Ovčarić is also active in the Krapina Hunting Society. According to publicly available data, he is listed as the society’s secretary and as one of the persons authorised to represent it. On the society’s official website he also appears among the members of the executive board and is listed on the register of full members of the society. Ovčarić was previously president of the Volunteer Fire Brigade of the Zabok General Hospital. His name appears in the data of the Firefighting Association of Krapina-Zagorje County, while publicly available data show that this function ended on the 11th of March 2020. He has worked at the hospital for very many years. Back in 2012, he was mentioned as head of the technical and service department when he took part with the police in a project to place anti-burglary warnings for cars in the hospital car park. he was on the commission for the hospital kiosk tender Particularly interesting are also the official minutes of the hospital’s Governing Board. From the minutes of the session held on the 10th of October 2024 it emerges that Ovčarić was appointed to a three-member commission for the implementation of a public tender for the lease of hospital premises and land. The tender concerned space for the installation of machines for hot and cold drinks and land for the installation of a fast-food facility. According to the decision of the Governing Board, the commission was responsible for preparing the tender, opening and reviewing bids, and proposing the selection of the most favourable bidder. Ovčarić was, according to the minutes from March 2025, also appointed to the commission for the implementation of the tender for the lease of parking spaces in the hospital garage. These documents confirm that Ovčarić had a role in conducting hospital tenders. For the time being, however, it has not been officially confirmed whether precisely these procedures are the subject of the current investigation. what sort of corruption is he suspected of? As was previously reported, Ovčarić is suspected of having accepted several hundred euros in bribes from convicts in order to enable them to avoid the community service work they were required to perform at the hospital. Investigators also suspect that he favoured companies in obtaining jobs. In one case a company allegedly received a new job with the explanation that it had leftover unused stone from previous works, which enabled it to offer a lower price. According to information obtained by Index, the award of the contract for the hospital kiosk to the owner of a service craft business with whom Ovčarić was close is also being investigated. It is suspected that Ovčarić himself actually ran the kiosk and earned income from its turnover. Allegations that hospital employees performed work on his private properties are also being checked. According to unofficial information, the USKOK action has involved eight persons. Police are carrying out arrests and urgent investigative measures in the area of Krapina-Zagorje County, Zagreb and Osijek. The Zabok General Hospital and Croatian Veterans’ Hospital confirmed that the police had requested documentation relating to one employee. They said they are cooperating with investigators but that, due to the ongoing investigation, they currently cannot comment on media reports. The post HDZ Candidate and Hospital Commission Member Arrested in Corruption Probe appeared first on Total Croatia .