UK judge orders extradition of Agrokor founder Todoric

By Estelle Shirbon

LONDON (Reuters) - A British judge ordered the extradition of Ivica Todoric, the founder of indebted Croatian food group Agrokor, to Croatia to face charges related to an alleged 110-million-euro ($134.54 million) fraud.

The judge granted Todoric bail pending his extradition, after his British lawyer told the court he did not pose a flight risk as he had no money left and his assets were subject to international freezing orders.

Todoric has seven days in which to lodge an appeal.

He and 14 other people are being investigated in Croatia over the crisis at Agrokor, the country's biggest private firm with 60,000 staff across the Balkans.

Under bail conditions set by the judge, Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot, Todoric will have to report to a police station daily and will be under a nightly curfew from 2000 to 0600 GMT.

Todoric said last November he would fight his extradition from Britain after handing himself in to police in London following a European arrest warrant issued by Croatia.

He denies any wrongdoing and says Croatia has launched a politically motivated process against him. In her judgment, Arbuthnot rejected the argument that there had been an abuse of process and political interference in Croatia, dismissing it as a "conspiracy theory".

The judge said the Croatian prosecutor had sent detailed information about the investigation into Agrokor and the evidence gathered so far. As of April 10, Croatian investigators had already interviewed 53 witnesses.

The judge quoted the Croatian prosecutor as saying there was "strong evidence" that Todoric had committed the alleged offences.

The prosecutor also said there was evidence the company had not been profitable since 2006 yet it had been picking up bills for Todoric's big game hunting in Africa as well as the cost of stuffing the animals he killed.

Agrokor was put into state-run administration in April 2017 after an overly-ambitious expansion drive left it weighed down by debt.

Earlier in April creditors agreed draft settlement terms aimed at saving the company from bankruptcy. They are due to vote on the deal before July 10.

($1 = 0.8176 euros)

(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; Writing by Sarah Young; Editing by Michael Holden and Peter Graff)