The endorsement of Monaco’s Prince Albert II Foundation has been wrongly claimed by a Croatian promoter who is now facing fraud charges in his own country. Kristijan Curavić first rose to prominence in Croatia as a reality show star, having previously worked as a professional diver.
Curavić claimed that both the Foundation and human rights activist Bianca Jagger were behind his scheme to plant white flags on beaches that could boast no plastic waste. He published the Foundation’s logo on his own website. The crux of his scheme was to sell the white flags to national governments anxious to show their sound environmental credentials.
He appears to have cheated the Maltese government out of almost two hundred thousands euros. A number of private individuals also fell prey to his scheme. In Malta, he charged 25,000 euros for each flag and succeeded in selling seven flags on Malta and Gozo. No due diligence was carried out and Curavić left Malta within days of a news report exposing his scheme.
Investigative reporting by The Shift News resulted in a plan for 40 White Flags in the Seychelles to be abruptly abandoned. Meanwhile the Croatian authorities have taken Curavić to court for the sum of 6,500 euros claiming false invoicing concerning an environmental project close to the South Pole that never took place. Claiming the support of Hollywood A-listers Brad Pitt and George Clooney, Curavić sold at least one White Flag in his native country, for 27,000 euros.
As recently as October 2018 European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella was photographed alongside Kristijan Curavić at Our Oceans conference in Bali.
ORIGINAL SOURCE: The Shift News
PHOTO: Meanwhile, local volunteers from Malta Clean Up continue with their regular clean ups at Ghajn Tuffieha – a beach awarded a White Flag at considerable cost.
