Drunk Man Set Fires, Received Over €44,000 in Subsidies
Daniel Stegnjaić from Donji Biljani is one of four arrested for deliberately starting ten fires in the Zadar area, and over two years he received €44,009.76 in agricultural subsidies.
Daniel Stegnjaić from Donji Biljani is one of four arrested for deliberately starting ten fires in the Zadar area, and over two years he received €44,009.76 in agricultural subsidies.
One of the four individuals detained on suspicion of deliberately setting fires in the Zadar area at the end of summer has received tens of thousands of euros from agricultural funds in recent years. This concerns Daniel Stegnjaić from Donji Biljani, who was allocated funds exceeding 44,000 euros from the state and EU budgets in 2024 and 2025, as reported by Riportal.
Stegnjaić is one of three Croatian nationals, aged 42, 45, and 46, who, along with a 33-year-old Polish national, were arrested following a series of fires on August 14 and 15. The police accuse them of deliberately setting ten fires at locations including Bilog Brig in Zadar, as well as in Zemunik Donji, Galovac, Donji Biljani, Zapužani, Zemunik, Zagradi, Lišani Tinjski, Škabrnja, and Benkovac. According to information released so far, the fires were started by igniting dry vegetation along roadsides using a lighter. At the time, the three male suspects were heavily under the influence of alcohol. As reported by 24sata, the group was also in possession of weapons.
The four suspects are being investigated for the suspected commission of a serious criminal offense against public safety. All have been remanded in custody for one month due to the risk of reoffending, with one additionally held due to flight risk. Chief State Attorney Ivan Turudić previously stated that the possibility of a different legal classification, including terrorism, has not been ruled out.
Publicly available data from the Agency for Payments in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Development shows that Stegnjaić has been a beneficiary of agricultural subsidies for years. In 2025, through six separate transactions, he received a total of 21,814.48 euros. The funds were tied to his agricultural holding and livestock farming, with the largest single amount being 6,189.93 euros. In the previous year, these amounts were slightly higher. In 2024, through nine separate subsidies, he received a total of 22,195.28 euros. Individual payments ranged from 625 to 6,579 euros. In just those two years, he received a total of 44,009.76 euros in agricultural subsidies, and it is not yet known how much he received in total over all the years he used the system.
According to information provided by locals to Index, Stegnjaić continued farming after his father's death, from whom he inherited the family agricultural holding. The farm currently has around 250 sheep. According to locals, he left Donji Biljani during Operation Storm, and his father was the first to return; Stegnjaić only returned after his father passed away. The family house was renovated after the war through a state reconstruction program, as were other houses in the area.
Among those arrested is also Vladimir Ćupić, known to the public from the case of illegal waste disposal at Crno Brdo near Biljani Donji. The investigation into how the group allegedly caused a series of fires in the Zadar area over two days is still ongoing.
