State Secretaries Declared Previously Undeclared Assets Following Asset Detector

Ema Grgić

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Oštro journalists updated the profiles of state secretaries and checked who had registered previously undeclared properties in the meantime.

Illustration: Jernej Žumer

Almost two years after the first publication of the assets of state secretaries in the Asset Detector project, Oštro journalists updated the data for those who have remained in office and reviewed the asset declarations of those who have assumed the position in the meantime.

Compared to the previous investigation, the number of state secretaries in ministries and central state offices has increased by eight, while there are 26 new secretaries in total. Their salaries range from 3,600 to 6,500 euros net, which is almost double the level of earnings of former state secretaries two years ago.

The largest number of state secretaries come from the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Homeland Movement parties, a total of 37, while 16 are not members of political parties. Among those who retained their positions compared to the previous investigation, only Mladen Pavić changed ministries, moving from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Culture and Media.

Problematic Building Land

The new state secretaries declared a total of 79 properties, and Oštro identified omissions in 11 of them – or 14 per cent, in other words.

Marinko Beljo, State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery, declared in his asset declaration a building plot in Tovarnik measuring 1,904 m2. However, Oštro’s investigation showed that when submitting the declaration, Beljo failed to state that there are also two structures on the land built between 2012 and 2015. The competent service of Vukovar-Srijem County told Oštro that no construction permits have been issued for the plot in question.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Science, Education, and Youth Zrinka Mužinić-Bikić declared three building plots in Srinjine near Split, which belong to her husband. These plots, with a total area of 134 m2, are in fact olive groves, and her husband has not yet been formally registered as their owner in the land register.

None of the mentioned state secretaries responded to Oštro’s inquiry.

Inconsistent Figures

A colleague of Zrinka Mužinić-Bikić, Nikola Mrvac, owns two plots of land with associated houses and yards in Desno Sredičko in Karlovac County. However, when submitting his asset declaration, Mrvac stated only the surface area of the houses, disregarding the remaining parts of the land. Thus, for the first property he stated an area of 79 m2, while it also includes a yard of 500 m2 and arable land of 86 m2. For the second property, in addition to a house measuring 47 m2, he failed to include a yard of 500 m2 and arable land of 14,365 m2.

Mrvac told Oštro that this was a single property with different land-use descriptions, and not separate parcels, which is why »in the asset declaration I listed it collectivelly as ‘a house with a yard,’ which in substance includes all of the above«.

Furthermore, as the Administrative Department for Construction and Environment of Karlovac County told Oštro, according to their records no permits have been issued for the said structures, which means that there are no official building permits for the two houses.

Mrvac explained that the two houses were reconstructed as part of a state reconstruction programme after the Homeland War, which is why a special legal regime applies under which such buildings are treated as if they have a valid building permit. In other words, for buildings reconstructed within the state programme »legalisation procedures do not apply, nor is there an obligation to obtain a building permit«, Mrvac added.

Mladen Barać from the Ministry of Economy incorrectly entered the surface area of a house with a yard owned by his wife in Slavonski Brod – instead of the actual 471 m2, he listed only 180 m2 in the asset declaration. Barać told Oštro that he had not previously been required to submit an asset declaration, so an error occurred.

For the same house, the land register states that it does not have a use permit, and Barać explained to Oštro that his wife had been informed when concluding the gift-purchase agreement that the house lacked a use permit and that the previous owner had made alterations that deviated from the original design. Therefore, after signing the agreement, he and his wife »engaged a designer who initiated the procedure for obtaining a use permit«.

Two of the new state secretaries did not declare their co-ownership of properties. Nikola Mrvac leads with more than 14,000 m2 of arable land and pastures in Desno Sredičko, while Ivan Crnčec from the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration, and Digital Transformation failed to list 482 m2 of yard in Čakovec.

Mrvac explained that these are multi-generational co-ownership shares originating from older probate proceedings and that they are »without actual possession, without use, and without income«, and that he does not claim any rights to the said properties. He added that these are formal inherited remnants that will be resolved within the family in line with the future priorities of the actual users.

Ivan Crnčec did not respond to Oštro’s inquiry.

Corrections Following Oštro’s Investigation

Among the state secretaries who have remained in office, five declared properties which Oštro journalists had established they had not reported during the initial review.

These include Stipe Mamić, who after Oštro’s investigation registered ownership of a house in Zagreb; Marija Pletikosa, who registered properties, mainly arable land and forests, which she inherited in Seline and Starigrad; and Domagoj Mikulić, who registered arable land inherited by his wife in Podbablje and Runovići. Tomislav Mihotić declared a holiday home in Sevid owned by his wife, but incorrectly stated that he was a co-owner and failed to declare the associated land, while Ivo Milatić declared land in Vrban.

»State Savings« and Undeclared Business Interests

Among the existing state secretaries, 12 have changes in ownership of shares and stakes, as well as government bonds and treasury bills. The updated data show that since Oštro’s last investigation, state secretaries and their spouses have invested the most precisely in government bonds and treasury bills – eight of them invested nearly 303,000 euros, with the largest amount of 140,000 euros held by the husband of Marija Pletikosa in treasury bills.

Ten new state secretaries own shares and fund units, while Ivan Rakocija, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy, leads with treasury bills worth 120,000 euros.

A total of 39 state secretaries reported some form of debt, and 35 reported savings. The largest debt, in the form of a guarantee and two loans totalling 394,000 euros, is held by Nevenka Lastrić-Đurić from the Ministry of the Interior. By contrast, the family of Margareta Mađerić from the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family, and Social Policy has savings totalling nearly 450,000 euros.

Among the declared business interests, two state secretaries listed family farms, three declared sole proprietorships owned by their spouses, and four declared business shares in various companies. Nevertheless, Oštro also identified undeclared interests.

Dražena Vrselja, when submitting this year’s and last year’s asset declarations, did not state that her husband is a co-owner of the construction company »Svod«. The company was closed in October this year, and Vrselja told Oštro that her husband had not received any compensation or dividends over the years.

Sanjin Rukavina from the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration, and Digital Transformation did not declare among business interests that his wife owns a sea fishing business »I G L U N«. He did not respond to Oštro as to why he failed to declare this.

The Conflict of Interest Commission stated that it would open proceedings in relation to the mentioned officials following Oštro’s inquiry, and that the final decision would be published in due course on the Commission’s website after a public session.

Since Oštro’s last investigation, the Conflict of Interest Commission has issued warnings to three state secretaries for failing to submit their asset declarations on time – Irena Petrijevčanin from the Ministry of the Interior, and colleagues from the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, Zrinka Raguž and Domagoj Mikulić.

Update 21 November 2025

Oštro sent an inquiry to the State Inspectorate regarding two structures on the building land owned by Marinko Beljo and two houses without building permits owned by Nikola Mrvac. Mrvac subsequently clarified that these are houses reconstructed as part of a state programme, which is why they are treated as if they have a valid building permit.

The response from the State Inspectorate was received after the publication of the article, stating that the Inspectorate has not so far received any report concerning the said locations, but that it considers Oštro’s inquiry to be a report, which has been included in the construction inspection work plan.