Croatia Olympic Committee elects Josip Varvodic

Croatia’s Olympic Committee elected Josip Varvodic as president on Wednesday, months after its former head stepped down in the wake of a corruption scandal linked to the country’s ski federation.

The committee said Varvodic, who is president of the swimming federation, was elected until 2028. He replaces long-time head Zlatko Matesa, who stepped down earlier this year to allow a corruption investigation to run its course.

The election came days after Damir Segota, director of the committee’s Olympic programme, was arrested and remanded in one-month custody over suspicions that he took bribes to release funds to the ski body. Prosecutors said they had expanded the investigation with allegations of bribery and money laundering.

Croatia is seeking the extradition of former alpine ski director Vedran Pavlek, who is held in Kazakhstan. Prosecutors allege Pavlek led a scheme that siphoned nearly 30 million euros from the federation and bribed Segota to unlawfully favour the ski federation, whose funding was then increased by more than two million euros.

In a speech before the vote, Varvodic pledged to bring a “brighter and more transparent future” to the Olympic Committee, according to local newspaper Vecernji List.