Tomislav Horvatinčić was arrested after he was filmed driving a Land Rover on Zagreb's Aleja Bologne in the Zagreb district of Gajnice, despite a court ban on operating motor vehicles. The police interrogation has been completed, and Horvatinčić presented a very brief defence before the police. His lawyer, Fran Olujić, declined to make statements after leaving the police headquarters.
The next step is Horvatinčić's examination at the state attorney's office (Državno odvjetništvo), but it is unclear whether it will be held today or tomorrow. After the examination, it will become known whether the prosecution will request a determination of investigative detention for him. Until then, Horvatinčić remains under police supervision.
Horvatinčić holds a valid driving licence, so the police, according to currently available information, will not be able to charge him with driving without a valid licence. The subject of the proceedings remains the suspicion that he drove despite a court-imposed ban on operating motor vehicles. It is not known when he regained his driving licence or under what conditions, and the Zagreb Public Prosecutor's Office (PU zagrebačka) did not respond to a query on the matter.
The police suspect him of non-compliance with a court decision, that is, of violating the security measure banning him from operating all motor vehicles. This measure was imposed on him under a legally binding sentence for a maritime accident in 2011, in which his yacht collided with a sailboat and killed the Italian married couple Francesco and Marina Salpietro. For that accident, he was legally sentenced to four years and ten months in prison. He reported to serve his sentence in July 2021, and was released on parole in July 2025.
The five-year ban on operating all motor vehicles did not run while he was in prison, but began to apply after his release. The ban was in force when Index filmed him behind the wheel. For non-compliance with a security measure determined by a legally binding court decision, the Criminal Code provides for a prison sentence of up to two years.
In 2017, he lost his driving licence following a medical examination. the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) at the time confirmed that his permanent incapacity to operate motor vehicles had been established, with the reason cited as a stroke. Horvatinčić subsequently handed his driving licence to the police. The stroke was also a significant part of the lengthy court proceedings over the maritime accident, as he claimed to have lost consciousness immediately before hitting the sailboat. That claim was the subject of medical examinations and court debates during the proceedings.
The fact that he now again holds a valid driving licence means that his status has changed in the meantime, but it is not known when his licence was reissued or on what basis. A valid driving licence does not mean that Horvatinčić was permitted to drive, as he was separately banned from operating all motor vehicles by a court order. The alleged violation of that ban is the subject of the current proceedings.
