The Croatian Minister of the Interior Ranko Ostojić was caught in an apparent conflict of interest this week after a local news outlet discovered he has been living since 2007 in a Zagreb apartment owned by media tycoon Ninoslav Pavić.
The apartment is 60 square meters on the third floor of a building owned by Pavić's company Com.Com and rents for $429 per month, according to local media. The Croatian government foots that bill, despite the fact that Com.Com is blacklisted by the Tax Authority for owing $433,507 in back taxes.
"I do not know what is controversial," Ostojić said of the arrangement, according to Hrsvijet.net. He said he has been trying for some time to move into a new apartment that could accommodate his family.
Ostojić moved into Pavić's apartment before he became a government official. Before he joined the government in 2008, he was a board member of Slobodne Dalmacije or 'Free Dalmatia,' one of the news outlets Pavić owns.c