STA, 31 July 2019 - Interpol has issued an arrest warrant against Slovenian businessmen Sergej Racman, the former owner of the cinema chain operator Kolosej, who is being sought by the Slovenian police in connection with a prostitution ring that was allegedly operating near Nova Gorica.
Racman has recently been indicted as the prime suspect together with 17 persons after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) completed in January a four-year investigation into prostitution, human trafficking and drug abuse in the areas of Nova Gorica and Maribor.
Following the indictment, which is not yet final, the Koper District Court ordered two weeks ago that Racman be detained, but the Slovenian police have not been able to locate him, putting him on a list of wanted persons.
The police issued last Wednesday an internal arrest warrant and a European arrest warrant against Racman, which was entered in the Schengen information system.
The warrants were followed by Interpol issuing yesterday a red notice, a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest Racman.
According to the media, the suspects from the prostitution ring are accused of exploiting a total of 413 girls, mostly from Romania, Ukraine, Albania and the former Yugoslavia, for prostitution in the Marina Sauna Club near Nova Gorica.
Between August 2014 and January this year around 150,000 men visited the club, paying an entrance fee of 60 to 85 euros. A total of EUR 21 million in illegal gains are believed to have been made in the process.
The prosecution claims the ring was led by entrepreneurs Jože Kojc, Dejan Šurbek and Racman, who jointly own the Marina Sauna Club. Šurbek and Racman have been in custody since 23 January, while Racman is still at large.
The media reported that Racman, who has officially been living in Slovakia since 2013, is away on business in Canada.
Slovenia is looking for another six persons through Interpol.
Other stories on this case can be found here, while Interpol's related page is here
