FRAUD IN ECONOMIC BUSINESS OPERATIONS IN CROATIA: PRACTICAL PROBLEMS AND LEGAL SOLUTIONS

Fraud in economic business operations is criminalised in Croatia in 1997. Since 2011 this offence was placed in chapter XXIV of Criminal Code, namely offences against economy. Almost 20 years after its introduction into Croatian criminal law, it represents one of the most common offences in the field of economic crimes. In the introduction of the paper development of the criminal offence of fraud in economic business operations is analysed. Recent legal regulation of the offence is criticised from the nomotechnical aspect and problems arising in practice. Evaluation of the final judgements of the Municipal Criminal Court in Zagreb and Municipal Court in Split is discussed next indicating diversity of the convictions and lenient imposed punishments; mostly suspended short term imprisonment. This practice suggests arbitrariness in application of the Act on the responsibility of legal persons for the criminal offences. The results are validated by the analysis of the data of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics concerning convictions of the adult persons who have committed criminal offence of fraud in economic business operations in the period from 2010-2014. Short term suspended imprisonment, restraint in imposing security measures and special obligations, overpopulation in the jails and insufficient number of qualified persons for rehabilitation and treatment of the offenders seriously cast doubt in efficiency of special and general prevention as purposes of the punishment. The paper shows that satisfactorily legal solutions confront numerous practical challenges. Only joint institutional action leaded by profoundly thought State criminal politics can guarantee success in fight against economic crime.