Former Croatian Prime Minister Sentenced To 10 Years For Corruption
Former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for taking bribes from two foreign companies.
On November 20, a Zagreb court found Sanader guilty of taking a 10 million-euro ($13 million) bribe from a Hungarian energy firm in 2008 in the privatization of Croatia's state oil company.
He was also found guilty of accepting bribes from an Austrian bank in 1995 when he was deputy foreign minister.
The prosecution had urged the maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for Sanader, who was prime minister from 2003 to 2009.
Sanader is the highest-ranking former official to be convicted of corruption in Croatia.
He has denied wrongdoing and said the trial was politically motivated.
Croatia is due to join the European Union in July 2013.
On November 20, a Zagreb court found Sanader guilty of taking a 10 million-euro ($13 million) bribe from a Hungarian energy firm in 2008 in the privatization of Croatia's state oil company.
He was also found guilty of accepting bribes from an Austrian bank in 1995 when he was deputy foreign minister.
The prosecution had urged the maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for Sanader, who was prime minister from 2003 to 2009.
Sanader is the highest-ranking former official to be convicted of corruption in Croatia.
He has denied wrongdoing and said the trial was politically motivated.
Croatia is due to join the European Union in July 2013.
