Croat ex-PM gets 10 years for kickbacks
Tuesday 20 November 2012
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EmailA Croatian court convicted former prime minister Ivo Sanader of corruption today and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
Judges found him guilty of taking a €10 million (£8m) bribe from Hungarian oil company MOL in return for controlling rights in Croatia's state oil firm INA.
Mr Sanader also received €545,000 (£440,000) in kickbacks for a lucrative credit deal with Hypo Alpe Adria Group that gave the Austrian bank a leading position on the Croatian market.
Mr Sanader abruptly resigned on July 1 2009 and insisted he was innocent, claiming that the charges were a political ploy to stop him from running for office again.
Trying to flee to the US, Mr Sanader was picked up in Austria in December 2010 at the behest of the Croatian authorities.
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