Zagreb Attorney Investigates Stones Promoter

Despite claiming the press is repeating a “series of falsehoods and tendentious allegations” against his state-funded company, Croatian promoter Sasa Britvic and his Koncertna Direkcija (KDZ) are still likely to be investigated by the Zagreb attorney’s office.

Reports in the daily Vecernji List quote city attorney Zeljka Pokupec saying she’s going to take a close look at the state audit report on KDZ for 2004.

In the middle of May, Vecernji List journalist Sandra Veljkovic got sight of that audit and wrote a piece saying that it shows Britvic’s company got public money to pay the wages of non-existent employees, showed cash payments to artists that never performed and put in bogus claims for traveling expenses.

The paper, as it’s obliged to do under Article 30 of Croatia’s Public Information Law, has since published a statement from Jadranko Crnko – KDZ’s lawyer – that says the article isn’t true and the state audit revealed no more than a “certain disharmony and certain formal irregularities.”

Despite several attempts, Pollstar still doesn’t have Britvic’s explanation of why he said disgraced promoter Marijan Crnaric was involved in the the Stones‘ show because the act requested it.

John Giddings from London’s Solo Agency described Britvic’s comments as “bullshit” and said the act has no idea who Crnaric is.

Giddings has since had Crnaric dropped from the job, although the promoter – who’s subject to a string of allegations regarding his failure to refund ticket money for canceled shows – went on Nova TV’s magazine-style “Red Carpet” program and denied it was true.

He said the only reason he’s no longer working on the show is because he’s finished what he had to do.

The show, which was originally scheduled for July 5th at Zagreb Maximir Stadium, is one of those awaiting re-scheduling due to Keith Richards convalescing from a holiday accident.

He needed minor surgery on his head after falling out of a tree while trying to collect coconuts.

– John Gammon