Teleskop.hr raises the key question in the hazardous waste affair: What did Tipos Resurs plan to do with the Divoselo complex at the time of its purchase in 2021, and who knew about that plan?
The hazardous waste affair in Gospić is mostly viewed through what has happened over the past few years: thousands of tons of waste, disputed permits, and investigations. However, the crucial part of the story begins much earlier, already in the period when the company Tipos Resurs acquired the industrial facility that would later serve as the foundation for its waste management operations. Therefore, the purchase of the complex in 2021 may not represent the beginning, but rather the first tangible outcome.
Land registry records confirm that Tipos Resurs bought the industrial complex in Divoselo from the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) more than a year before it received its first known waste management permit in Gospić. The sales contract was concluded on July 29, 2021, and the property was transferred from HBOR to Tipos Resurs. This timeline raises a question that has not been thoroughly addressed so far: what intentions did the company have for the complex at the time of acquisition, and who was aware of that plan?
According to data obtained by Teleskop.hr, the purchase price of the complex was around 224,000 euros. A few months later, at the end of September 2021, a mortgage lien was recorded on the properties in favor of Zagrebačka banka as security for a debt of 1.14 million euros. This sequence of events prompts further questions: how was the value of the properties determined, what did Tipos Resurs state as the planned use of the complex, and what was the financial plan supporting that project?
Indeed, the acquisition of the complex was not a trivial or side transaction. It involves industrial land with buildings and silos. If a company specialized in waste decided to invest precisely there, it is hard to believe that it did not have at least a rough vision of how it would use the property. This is particularly important because already in 2022, the first official request for a waste management permit was submitted, and USKOK now suspects that waste was present at the site even before the permit was issued.
The first permit was issued on October 10, 2022. In that process, the then county employee Jerko Kostelac played a key role. The subsequent investigation led to suspicions that the Šincek family demanded that he issue the permit regardless of the actual conditions on the ground. This is important because the formal request submitted to the Lika-Senj County could not have been the first step in the entire process. Before that, it was necessary to secure the location, prepare documentation, draft an expert study, determine the types of waste, plan capacities, secure financing, and assess the feasibility of such an operation at that site.
According to USKOK's suspicions, during September and October 2022, at least 5,792.34 tons of waste were stored at the site and surrounding properties without legal basis. Investigators also note that the inspection report recorded that there was no stored waste at the location, even though several thousand tons were already there.
After the State Inspectorate identified irregularities and sought the revocation of the first permit, Tipos Resurs entered the process again in 2024. The new procedure lasted from September 30 to November 12, 2024. USKOK suspects that Kostelac, at the request of the same individuals, again issued an urgent waste management permit to Tipos Resurs, despite being aware of the State Inspectorate's recommendation, environmental risks, and the lack of adequate insurance for waste access. It is precisely because of the manner in which these permits were issued that USKOK expanded the investigation to include Kostelac on June 13, 2025.
What followed were bankruptcy, enforcement proceedings, and finally a state decision to remediate the waste-contaminated site. The bankruptcy of Tipos Resurs was opened on January 28, 2025. The Ministry of Environment and Energy issued a decision on November 3, 2025, to remediate waste-contaminated sites, including the site in Gospić. The annotation in the land registry was made on November 20, 2025.
Therefore, the entire story may need to be read backwards. The purchase of the complex in 2021 could have been the culmination of earlier preparations, not the beginning of the project. If that is the case, then it is not enough to investigate only who signed the permits in 2022 and 2024. It is necessary to determine who knew about the Šincek family's plans earlier, with whom they communicated, who provided them with support, and what the ministries, HBOR, the City of Gospić, and the Lika-Senj County knew about the future purpose of the complex. Because if the plan existed, then someone must have been aware of its existence long before the first permit landed on the county official's desk.
