Zabok hospital official and HDZ candidate Vladimir Ovčarić has been arrested in a wider corruption probe, Croatian authorities say. Ovčarić runs the Technical and Service Activities Department at Zabok General Hospital and the Croatian Veterans’ Hospital, and he was appointed to multiple hospital tender commissions, including a role reviewing bids for leasing hospital premises and land. Investigators also suspect he accepted several hundred euros in bribes from convicts to help them avoid community service work at the hospital, and that he favoured companies in job awards. Public records discussed in the case show Ovčarić served on a three-member commission created by the hospital’s Governing Board for a public tender tied to leasing space for hot and cold drink machines and land for a fast-food facility. He was later appointed to a commission for a separate tender involving the lease of parking spaces in the hospital garage. The probe also focuses on alleged payoffs connected to hospital contracts. One allegation says a company received a new job because it allegedly had leftover unused stone from previous works, allowing it to offer a lower price. Index reports that investigators are also looking into the award of a hospital kiosk contract tied to an owner Ovčarić was close to, with suspicion that Ovčarić himself ran the kiosk and earned income from its turnover. Allegations that hospital employees performed work on Ovčarić’s private properties are also under review. The USKOK investigation involved eight people, with police carrying out arrests and urgent investigative measures across Krapina-Zagorje County, Zagreb and Osijek. The hospitals confirmed police requested documentation relating to one employee, and said they are cooperating but cannot comment on media reports due to the ongoing investigation. Ovčarić is currently under arrest as part of the corruption investigation, which is still developing.