The police would not reveal the name of the appraiser or the company he tried to swindle, but BAMC said it had been notified by the police of well-grounded suspicion that one of its employees had been bribed.

Head of the department for corporate crime at the Celje police administration, Igor Kekec, told reporters that the suspect had asked to be paid EUR 400,000 in exchange for a favourable appraisal of a property situated in the area of Maribor.

The police had been tipped off by the person the suspect demanded the money from. The suspect had received EUR 10,000 while the investigation, launched in December 2014, was ongoing. He was found to have acted on his own, according to Kekec.

The news that the investigation targeted a BAMC appraiser was first reported by the business daily Finance. BAMC later confirmed that investigation was conducted at its headquarters on suspicion that one of its employees took bribes.

BAMC said that it was treating the suspicion seriously, announcing an internal inquiry and plans to boost measures designed to ensure the transparency of all procedures.

The suspect was being suspended from his duties until further notice, BAMC said, voicing "zero tolerance" of potential illegal practice by its employees.