JEDAN OD VEĆIH KRIMINALNIH MILEJA POD ZAŠTITOM JE CRKVE I NACIONALISTIČKE KORUPCIJE HRVATSKE

sport j2 money culture scene video subscription Krešimir Petek and his real estate ŠEŠA'S KINGDOM From driver to billionaire: How the business of Krešo Petek, the first defendant in the Janaf affair, grew When he made his first serious money, he bought a Boss suit and went out into the street with a label on his sleeve. Everyone laughed at him Writes: Filip PavićPosted: September 25, 2020 7:56 am Facebook Twitter Messenger E-mail - Šešo is powerful, recognized, he built the image of a strong man, and I must admit, although I am not happy, that he worked hard on himself, he became a real manager for the last twenty years and learned to swim well in our waters - he told Jutarnji list former Mayor of Ivanić Grad Boris Kovačić . Kovačić knows the richest citizen of Ivanić, Krešimir Petek "Šeša", as the locals call him, a powerful local businessman suspected of bribery in the Janaf affair. They used to play football together recreationally in Križ on Fridays, and Kovačić is also familiar with the business and political path of a local entrepreneur who has long outgrown the local framework. Since Petek ended up in custody on suspicion of handing over two million kunas in bribes to his boss Janaf, we have been convinced that there has been a vow of silence in Ivanić Grad. The reason is simple. Friday funded everything in the city, from local radio stations, portals, newspapers, events to sports clubs and competitions. image Krešo Petek (right) Damir Krajač / Cropix Moreover, the revenues of Petek's companies, a total of 700 million kuna, are seven times higher than the budget of Ivanić Grad. In addition, it employs about 500 people in its power plant construction company Elektrocentar Petak, one of the largest construction companies in Zagreb County. In addition to Elektrocentar, about 50 employees work in its Hotel Sport, and a dozen in the Garfield restaurant. “Multiply that by the number of families who depend directly on him, and you understand why there is silence here,” say a few locals who wanted to talk to us. However, according to Kovačić, Šešo is just the tip of the iceberg. - I would not like it to turn out that I am defending Šeša, we haven't actually talked in recent years because he got angry with me after the election, but I think he just adapted to the way of doing business that has become a practice since the 90's. If corruption is already being addressed, then we should first start from politics, centers of power, and not entrepreneurs - the former mayor believes. Friday, he says, started in the 90s like most other entrepreneurs. He worked as a driver at Elektra in Križ and quickly figured out how to progress. At that time, the more resourceful employees of large state-owned companies, such as INA, HEP, Hrvatske šume, Voda, realized that they could start their own businesses and continue working for those companies, but for more money, externally, as contractors. Krešo Petek started the electric craft "Šešo" with a handful of employees and went into private waters. - He went with Ina first. Ina, and now Crosco, as you know, is ubiquitous here, and just at that time they were opening a lot of construction sites in Ivanić and working on infrastructure projects on which they also employed his installation company. All the companies that grew up here in the 90's were in one way or another related to INA - says Kovačić. On Friday, Kovačić added, growing mic by mic from a small trade. He soon renamed the company to Elektrocentar Petek, and he also applied for some city tenders. Thus, in the early 2000s, he maintained lighting and led the winter service in Ivanić Grad. The big business boom, however, did not come from small city jobs, but, Kovačić claims, through business connections in Zagreb. - He never hid that he was a HDZ sympathizer. His restaurant also housed the HDZ's 2013 election headquarters for the local elections. He was moving very well in that circle - Kovačić remembers. By the way, that year the SDP mayor Kovačić was taken over by the current mayor of Ivanić Grad, Javor Bojan Leš, with whom, it is no secret, Petek has very good relations. He remembers the former mayor and anecdotes from that time, which well outline the general modus operandi of Krešo Petek, and it is a tender that the City announced for the sale of one plot of land. - Šešo also applied for the tender, but he did not have the biggest offer, but another entrepreneur. In the end, the entrepreneur bought the land, but he later told me that Šešo wanted to shake it with a drink even before the tender. He told him: "Don't even answer, I have already agreed everything with Kovačić." That, of course, was not true, but he did not shy away from such intrigues either - says Kovačić. image Hotel Sport Željko Puhovski / Cropix Despite that, a part of Ivanić's locals will still describe Petek as the one who "took for himself, but also gave to others". They tolerate him because they depend on him, says Kovačić, but that he is loved and respected is not true. - There is a lot of gossip here, it's a small area. People often remember with ridicule when Šešo bought Boss's first suit. He showed up in that expensive suit, with a label left on his sleeve. It was funny to people because it showed that he was not yet used to that lifestyle. However, he quickly got used to it. He also has arrogance in himself, but on the other hand he also knows how to deal with people who need a smile to have the door open for him - Kovačić points out.