Corruption suspicion in Kranj: Mayor Rakovec on tape about land auction worth up to €600,000

Kranj mayor Matjaž Rakovec (SD, the Social Democrats) told a meeting of the Serbian Cultural Society Brdo on 22 October that the use of a municipal meadow and field, both zoned for a cemetery in the spatial plan, could be changed through a fast-track procedure so the land could be designated for a church, according to a report by 24ur, a Slovenian commercial news outlet. In his words, an auction could be held in February or March, and the price should not be a problem because "things can be arranged nicely". The land is said to be worth between €400,000 and €600,000. 24ur describes the matter as a suspicion of corruption, but that is 24ur's own assessment, not a finding by any authority. Rakovec denies promising anything.

What the mayor said

24ur obtained the recording unofficially and has not published it in full. It is a record of the event more than half an hour long. According to 24ur, Rakovec himself proposed the third of three municipal sites at the meeting: right next to a shopping centre and the Kranj cemetery, where the municipality has just over 3,000 square metres zoned for a cemetery. In his words, the first site is too narrow, and on the second, by the new bridge over the Sava, the municipality does not own enough land.

On the change of land use, he is said to have said:

“Yes, it can be changed, namely in such a way that we can make a targeted change through a fast-track procedure. All of this, this meadow and this field, is zoned for cemetery use, and we can also change it to sacral use.” (translated)

On the auction and the alliance with Stevanović's party Resnica, he said, according to 24ur's transcript:

“Given that Zoran and I will probably form a coalition, I think there would be no problem to put this up for auction very quickly, around February or March. Now, I can't tell you the price. But I think things can be arranged nicely here, because nobody will be buying land for a cemetery.” (translated)

According to 24ur, he also advised members of the Serbian society to build a cemetery next to the church itself and then hand it over to the municipality to manage. The municipality is meanwhile said to be planning to buy private land to expand the Kranj cemetery.

What Stevanović said

Zoran Stevanović, the president of the National Assembly (DZ), who appeared at the meeting alongside the mayor, said, according to 24ur, that he used the second-highest office in the country to secure a donor. The donor was introduced as Mladen Milanović, known as Kaja.

“Among the first things I used this second function in the state for, I achieved that we got a donor for buying land for building this Orthodox church, and I can tell you I am damn proud of it.” (translated)

The most incriminating part for the mayor is the one in which Stevanović speaks on behalf of the group, not on behalf of the mayor. According to 24ur's transcript, he said:

“The mayor has the option, if someone offers more, of holding back his signature on the contract. In short, this was promised to us. We heard everyone present, and nobody else should take part in this procedure.” (translated)

According to the published transcript, the mayor did not say these words, so we cannot attribute them to him.

The mayor denies it

Rakovec told 24ur he was only answering questions from those present.

“They asked me how the thing works. I stressed that the city council decides on this, that an auction will be held, and that the land rezoning procedure itself takes at least a year and a half to two.” (translated)

Asked about Stevanović's statement that the mayor would hold back his signature on the contract if there was a higher offer, he replied:

“The fact is that I never promised that.” (translated)

24ur asked him directly whether Stevanović is lying. Rakovec replied that he does not know whether Stevanović actually said it, and that he certainly did not promise it. According to 24ur, he also claims he did not know Stevanović would come and that he was merely representing the interests of the municipality. Stevanović told 24ur only that he attended the meeting not as president of the National Assembly but as leader of the Resnica party during the election campaign.

Who the donor is

24ur describes Milanović as one of the richest businessmen in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Republika Srpska. He owns the company MG Mind, which at the end of 2023 bought the retail part of Stožice, and through it he is said to control the Slovenian construction firm KPL. According to 24ur, the media have repeatedly linked him with Milorad Dodik. In 2018 he is said to have bought land at a public auction in Koper and donated it to the Orthodox Church, but construction there has also been stuck for years because of a land-use change.

What is still unclear

The sources mention no investigation or criminal complaint. We did not listen to the recording ourselves: we are summarising the claims from 24ur, which reported the story first, and from Delo and N1. The land is not yet for sale, the city council would have to decide on the change of land use, and the buyer would be chosen at a public auction. Local elections will be held on 15 November, and Rakovec is running for a third term.