Ivan LozićIvan Lozic, head of the Economic Crime Unit of the Split Police and the nominal key operative charged with exposing the details of the Brodosplit affair, could with the conclusion of that affair face a real professional debacle. Lozic has for some time now been skilfully manipulating with the Brodosplit case in order to reduce the possible negative effects of the affair for the HDZ, while the top people a the ruling party are ostensibly vigorously asking of Bajic that the case be brought completely out into the open. Instead of offering as much possible assistance to the State Attorney's Office, Lozic has for months now continuously misdirected the case and avoided seriously processing the real suspects. Bajic, who met last week with Austrian investigators to exchange information of the circulation of laundered money in the Brodosplit affair, has been unhappy with Lozic's behaviour for some time now because Lozic's controversial involvement in the Brodosplit affair is not his first impropriety.

After Nacional revealed in the spring of 2006 that the board of directors and supervisory board of Brodosplit had, in the frame of constructing four ships for the German shipping company Vessels, apparently laundered 6 million dollars through several Cypriot firms, Lozic, as the nominally top operative at the Split police for the prevention of economic crime, must find out who all the participating figures were, but he has for months obstructed the investigation. Well informed legal circles claim that he is doing so because Sinisa Poljak, the head of the Brodosplit supervisory committee at the time, the informal HDZ personnel man at the Split police, and up to then a close friend of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, could find himself under Lozic's scrutiny. These same circles also say that there are several possible reasons why Lozic is not doing his best on the job.

In deference to his friends and contacts, legal circles describe Lozic as a HDZ man at the Split police, who has most likely not fallen prey to frequent accusation of corruption because of his political backing. Besides, his inappropriate behaviour and overstepping of authority, like those he has been criticized for in the Euroherc case, are additional aces with which Lozic's political patrons are able to direct his work to meet their political needs.

Luka BebićIvan Lozic hails from Imotski. He is a member of the HDZ. He graduated in economics, and in 1992 moved from the Imotski administrative office of the Ministry of Defence to work at the Imotski police department. He came to Split from there about ten years ago and in 1996 became an inspector in the department for the prevention of economic crime. Those well versed on the affairs of the Split police claim that Lozic's police career is linked to his mentor Ante Gudelj, now the Deputy Chief of Police in Split. Lozic and Gudelj became close as they both worked in the same department, and Gudelj immediately began giving him preferential treatment. Initially, however, Lozic did not make much headway. His colleagues did not have an especially good opinion of him – they considered him work-shy and with a bent for corrupt behaviour and a toady to the local political brass. Colleagues quickly perceived that Lozic adjusted the pace of work on his cases to the circumstances surrounding them. He would speed up crime investigations if he felt that circles important to him expected the suspects to be processed, or slow them down if the opposite was the case.

Already back in 1997, Lozic was close to Zivko Nenadic, then a high-ranking HDZ politician. While serving at the post of president of the HDZ's Split-Dalmatia County Committee Nenadic was the HDZ's top personnel man for the police and justice department. As Nenadic is a close friend of Ante Gudelj's, so Lozic too entered the circle of police officers with close ties to the ruling party. What is especially interesting is that Lozic was previously very close with Sinisa Poljak, who should, by his parameters be among the top suspects in the Brodosplit affair.

Up to the emergence of this affair, Lozic, Gudelj and Poljak spent years sipping their morning coffees at the Crni baron café, just opposite the building of the Split police. Lozic, Gudelj, Nenadic, Poljak, Investigating Judge Stanko Grbavac and former State Attorney Nedjeljko Ivancevic are considered to be the most influential police-justice-political lobby in Split.

Mladen BajićDuring the SDP government Lozic was even promoted, even though he took several sick leaves on account of "excessive work load", emotional problems and stress as a result of the situation in his family. His colleagues claim that he was in fact keeping a distance from cases in which the department for economic crime would really have to get involved in which could threaten the affairs of interest groups he was close to.

After the coalition government was ushered from power, Ivica Franic took over the post of Chief of Police. At the first meeting, during a visit to the Split police, Franic said that the top positions at the police department would be decided by Prime Minister Sanader. Sanader in fact agreed to the decisions of Luka Bebic and Zivko Nenadic, HDZ Member of Parliament. Ivan Mercep was named to the post of chief of the police department, and is considered to be Luka Bebic's man. In the new circumstances Ante Gudelj was named head of the department for economic crime and Ivan Lozic became his "right hand", first assistant and associate. Lozic was Nenadic's choice.

Those well informed as to the situation in the Split police claim that Mercep is not at all interested in police work. He is apparently involved in numerous other businesses, including construction. Mercep is considered the person who only provides formal cover for what Gudelj and Lozic do at the police. When Gudelj was made the deputy head of the police department just a little over a year ago, Lozic was promoted. In early 2005, Ivan Lozic became the head of Economic Crime Unit. For years Lozic had operated in the shadow of his boss, but very precisely and in coordination. Colleagues were quick to notice how the living standards of both Gudelj and Lozic, police officers with average wages, has recently visible risen. What especially struck them is that Lozic is always impeccably dressed in suits his colleagues say he could not have acquired only through his officer's pay.

Siniša PoljakIn order to take full control of the Split police, Mercep, Gudelj and Lozic have removed some 50 people in the last year and a half alone. A particular thorn in their side was Josip Buljan, because he dared to investigate embezzlement at the Market Directorate, which could have put Zivko Nenadic in an uncomfortable position. There was suspicion that through his membership in the managing council of the municipal markets, Nenadic has wielded influenced on who could buy a kiosk at several Split marketplaces for some 30 or so thousand euros. Buljan had wanted to thoroughly investigate the off the record information that Nenadic has earned himself some 100 thousand euros on that job. He was apparently obstructed in this by Lozic and Gudelj, who asked Police Chief Mercep to relieve Buljan of his duties.

The Split police have, in fact, not done anything of note in a long time. The investigations into larger scale criminal activity in the area of economic crime is supervised, controlled and selected by Ivan Lozic. His colleagues claim off the record that the abuses of rank and authority, and the overstepping of authority in carrying out investigations, have long ago become the recognizable trademarks of both Lozic and Gudelj. That these evaluations of their work could be accurate is best attested to by the example in which the Euroherc Company found itself under Lozic's scrutiny.

A little over a year ago the top management of Euroherc sent USKOK material evidence revealing collusion between Ivan Lozic and Milan Lucic, a controversial businessman who has for some time not shied away from any means to take over Euroherc. At Euroherc they are convinced that Lozic abused his rank to exert pressure on their concern by creating a negative atmosphere in the press surrounding the company – they are in fact convinced that Lozic is a corrupt policeman who served Lucic as a technical aide in a classic shakedown of Euroherc.

Luka VitasovićSomewhat over a year ago Lozic filed criminal charges against the Euroherc management in this dispute, charging them with several criminal acts in which they allegedly defrauded small stockholders of 146 million kunas. The case has yet to be resolved.

During the processing of the case Lozic on several occasions spoke with to Euroherc managers. On one occasion he called Radoslav Pavlovic and Zlatko Lerota in for questioning. Lozic then told them that these should settle with the Euroherc small stockholders suing them. Lozic told them that it would not be possible to solve the problem any other way, and that this was in everyone's interest. He also threatened Radoslav Pavlovic, the President of the Board of Euroherc, that he would write that he had forged signatures on some documents and put him in a situation to have prove that this was not so, even though he knew that there was no evidence that Pavlovic had forged those signatures. Lozic tried to persuade the management of Euroherc to accept what Milan Lucic was seeking, to take over the ownership of Euroherc or win about a million in compensation for stocks he claim are his. At Euroherc they believe that Lozic in saying this overstepped the bounds of his authority and have reported him to USKOK. In the meantime they have started winning court cases in litigation through which the small stockholders and Lucic had tried to take over Euroherc. This indicates that the allegations of small stockholders were unfounded, but the competent authorities have yet to make rulings on Lozic's criminal charges against Euroherc management, or on the charges brought against Lozic himself.

Nevertheless, it appears that Lozic's position at the Split police department is very solid. There is a logical explanation for this. As Chief of Split Police Ivan Mercep is a very good friend of Interior Affairs Minister Ivica Kirin, it is felt that the answer to why Lozic is able, in spite of the insistence of Police Director Marijan Benko, to constantly and without repercussion obstruct the investigation into the Brodosplit affair, can be found there.

However, as some EU member states have entered the investigation into the Brodosplit affair, someone will have to tell the public, sooner or later, why the investigation was protracted, who obstructed it, and why the competent authorities have not either processed Lozic, or cleared him of suspicion of corruption in a case that has for years now been gathering dust at the USKOK archives.