Imagine this – right in the heart of Croatian healthcare, at KBC Zagreb, one of the dirtiest corruption scandals has been uncovered! Six people, including the head nurse and the head of a clinical department, have been arrested for rigging contracts worth hundreds of thousands of euros. How? They simply pre-arranged contracts, favoring the company Airmed Solutions, whose director Matija Herceg was also handcuffed.
Investigators secretly recorded their shady deals for a whole year, and the tapes reveal how tenders were opened only on paper, while contracts were awarded in advance. One tender was open for just 20 minutes, and the documentation was sent only by the company director! To make matters worse, competing offers were up to 30% cheaper but were rejected under the pretext of not meeting technical specifications.
This gang illegally earned at least 300,000 euros, while accepting bribes in cash and services – from paying for home renovations to trips to Paris! All this while ordinary citizens pay high bills and struggle to access healthcare services.
But that’s not all! Similar shady deals were arranged at the General Hospital of Šibenik-Knin County, again favoring the same company. All done against public procurement laws, and the responsible parties are now under investigation.
This scandal is a massive blow to trust in the healthcare system and shows how deeply corruption has infiltrated institutions meant to protect our health. While they get rich at our expense, patients suffer.
If you think this is just another corruption story, think again. This scandal proves the system needs to change, and fast! So, what do you think – how many more scandals are waiting to surface? Drop a comment, share your story, or just say – does this even surprise you? Honestly, it doesn’t surprise us much.
