Prosecutors to question ex-Croatian PM on corruption

Ex-Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader will appear before prosecutors for the first time Thursday following his extradition from Austria to face corruption probes, his lawyer said. Lawyer Cedo Prodanovic said prosecutors will question Sanader, who was prime minister from 2003 to 2009, on a number of alleged corruption affairs. "For now we will present only the defence regarding one case and then successively, in the coming days, regarding other cases," Prodanovic said. Prosecutors had been due to question Sanader in the offices of the country's anti-graft bureau in downtown Zagreb but would instead see him in a Zagreb prison where he was transferred from Austria on Monday, the lawyer said. He said Sanader would not be moved for health reasons, after he injured his leg in an Austrian prison. Local media reported that Sanader may be questioned regarding a probe into the alleged embezzlement of millions of euros (dollars) from state-run companies. Sanader, 58, is alleged to have instructed state-run firms to make business deals with a local promotion agency. The money paid for the fictitious services to the Fimi-Media promotion firm ended up in the pockets of private individuals, including Sanader's own, and the coffers of his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, according to prosecutors. The national anti-graft agency (USKOK) is also probing Sanader for allegedly taking bribes from Hungarian energy giant MOL. The Jutarnji List daily reported on Thursday that USKOK has opened another probed into allegedly illegal HDZ funds. Sanader, who led the government as HDZ leader from 2003 until 2009, was detained in Austria in early December on a Croatian warrant. His return came at a sensitive moment for his former party as Croatia prepares for general elections, announced for December 4 by Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor. The fight against corruption is among key criteria Zagreb has to meet to join the European Union. Croatia, set to join the bloc in mid-2013, has stepped up its anti-graft fight since Kosor took over.