Croatia sacks economy minister and his adviser over suspected corruption

BELGRADE, Serbia

Croatia's premier said Tuesday he dismissed Economy Minister Davor Filipovic and his adviser, Jurica Lovrincevic.

The move by Andrej Plenkovic came after the Nacional magazine said Lovrincevic had an irregular agreement with a Zagreb television station.

"The reason for my decision is the discourse we saw in the media. The correspondence between the former minister's adviser and a journalist caused great surprise in the government," Plenkovic said at a news conference in the national capital, Zagreb.

He said he lost confidence in Filipovic.

"I no longer have confidence in the minister who allowed such events to happen. We will start negotiations for a new name as soon as possible," said Plenkovic.

Nacional published an article that said Lovrincevic offered to rent billboards of state-owned companies and organizations to Mreza TV and requested half of the amount of the cost be deposited into his account.

The magazine printed correspondence between Lovrincevic and a journalist.