Two Croatian doctors charged with defrauding hospital of over €48,000

Two doctors from Zadar, Croatia, face charges of abuse of position and authority, and document forgery, accused of defrauding the General Hospital Zadar of €48,577. Dr. Suzana Konjevoda, formerly the head of the Ophthalmology Department, and Dr. Samir Čanović, a physician in the same department, were indicted by the Zadar County State Attorney's Office following an investigation that began in the summer of 2024.

According to the indictment, Dr. Konjevoda, who also owned a private polyclinic, allegedly granted Dr. Čanović unjustified paid leave from the hospital. During this time, Dr. Čanović reportedly worked at her private clinic. Furthermore, Dr. Konjevoda is accused of falsifying records regarding overtime and on-call hours for herself and Dr. Čanović. Dr. Čanović is alleged to have entered false information into these records, which Dr. Konjevoda then submitted for payroll processing, despite neither having the right to the paid leave or overtime as they were providing services at the private polyclinic.

The prosecution seeks the confiscation of the illicitly obtained funds from the accused. Additionally, the prosecution requests that Dr. Konjevoda's precautionary measure, which prohibits her from heading the ophthalmology department, be extended. The alleged offenses occurred between January 2019 and December 2023.