Agrokor Reported Fictitious Profits, Todorić Paid Himself €30 Million
While the conglomerate lost billions, hefty dividends were paid out from fabricated profits. Former auditor pleads guilty and receives suspended sentence.
While the conglomerate lost billions, hefty dividends were paid out from fabricated profits. Former auditor pleads guilty and receives suspended sentence.
For years, Agrokor reported profits in its financial statements despite actually operating with massive losses. From these fictitious profits, former owner Ivica Todorić paid himself nearly €30 million in dividends to which he was not entitled, according to a verdict against the conglomerate's former auditor published on Wednesday, August 6, 2026.
The scale of the manipulation is staggering. For 2012, the books showed a loss of only HRK 11.6 million, while the actual loss that year was nearly HRK 1.2 billion. A year earlier, for 2010, a net profit of HRK 211 million was reported, but in reality the company operated at a loss of HRK 380 million. A similar pattern repeated in 2009, when HRK 66 million in profit was reported instead of an actual loss of HRK 259 million.
Each year, Agrokor's general assembly voted to pay dividends from this "non-existent" profit, which went directly to Todorić and his associated Dutch company, Adria Group Holding. For the period from 2008 to 2014, Todorić received approximately €29.7 million for the business years. An additional €42.2 million was paid to Adria Group Holding, through which Todorić, according to earlier media reports, held ownership of Agrokor, for the years 2013 and 2014. The damage caused to Agrokor amounts to nearly €72 million.
To sustain this way of doing business, someone had to confirm that the financial statements were in order. The auditor was the one who signed off. Sanja Hrstić (63), a former certified auditor at Baker Tilly, has now pleaded guilty and reached a settlement with the prosecution. She received a final sentence of nine months in prison, suspended, with a probation period of four years. Additionally, she must pay €10,000 for court costs.
As stated in the verdict, Hrstić signed audit reports for 2006 to 2008, and 2010 and 2011, which claimed that Agrokor's financial statements faithfully and objectively reflected the situation, despite being aware that this was not true. For the remaining years, the reports were signed by another auditor, whose case is being handled separately due to health reasons.
The verdict against Hrstić was based on a plea agreement and became final immediately. Former members of the management board and directors of the conglomerate have previously pleaded guilty, while the trial of Ivica Todorić continues.
