The Ministry of the Interior's Directorate for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) has launched a probe against Damir Šegota, the former director of the Croatian Olympic Committee (HOO). Šegota is charged with bribery and money laundering, for which he has been remanded in custody by the investigating judge. The decision on the measure is made by the judge, with the Zagreb County Court overseeing the process. Šegotta resigned from his post as director of the HOO's Olympic programme following the initiation of the proceedings.
Šegota was arrested on Thursday alongside his wife. Following questioning at the USK headquarters, the wife was released as no case had been opened against her. According to investigators, Šegota received a bribe from Vedran Pavlek, the former secretary of the Croatian Ski Association. The aim of the alleged illegal act was to ensure that the Croatian Ski Association received larger sums of money from the Olympic Committee's budget from 2018.
Vedran Pavlek, identified as the source of the bribe, is currently at large and hiding in Kazakhstan. The investigation also covers the suspicion that Šegota and his wife were laundering money by investing in gold. The total amount of the illicit payments in the affair is estimated at 30 million euros. The arrests followed the media's publication that the former secretary of the Croatian Ski Association, Damir Raos, had completed his defence.
Damir Raos admitted to making payments on Pavlek's instructions, providing detailed information to investigators about who received the cash from the list. The list was found on the suspect Nenad Eror at the Bregana border crossing on 31 January 2026. Eror, at the time, had over 116,000 euros in cash in his possession, with the list allegedly containing individuals from the HOO.
The police and USK searched the premises used by the HOO's general secretary, Siniša Krajač. Krajač was not arrested, nor is he currently the subject of criminal proceedings. The investigation continues to determine the full responsibility of all parties involved in the alleged system of illicit payments and money laundering.
