According to official media outlet Hina, former Croatian international Dario Simic was arrested on Tuesday in connection with a corruption case in the tourism sector.
Dario Simic, 50, has made 100 appearances for Croatia, participating in three World Cups (a third-place finish in 1998, 2002, and 2006). He was arrested in Zagreb on suspicion of illegally obtaining an operating permit for a camp on Croatia's Adriatic coast. Sources say this is one of the charges under investigation.
Neither police nor the special prosecutor's office responsible for anti-corruption have confirmed the arrest, but several media outlets have published photos showing Simic in handcuffs as he gets out of a police car. The case also involves two other individuals, a former tourism official and a local businessman, who are accused of aiding Simic and are currently in custody. At the heart of the case is a small campsite of 10 sites in Tisno.
Two Champions League titles
A former tourism official and four others were indicted as early as 2025 for allegedly issuing illegal permits for the campsite. Tisno local authorities filed a lawsuit against Simitch in 2024, accusing him of suspected illegal construction in a protected coastal area.
Simic came through the youth academy of Dinamo Zagreb, where he played for six years. He then spent ten years playing in Italy, for Inter Milan and AC Milan, winning the Champions League in 2003 and 2007 with AC Milan. He then joined Monaco, and after a brief stint back at his former club, retired in 2010.
After retiring, this former defender founded a bottled water production company, whose products are sold in the Balkans.
