Croatia ex-PM convicted of corruption

[JURIST] A Croatian court on Tuesday convicted former prime minister Ivo Sanader of corruption and sentenced him to nine years in prison. The court also convicted the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) for siphoning funds from state-run companies. Sanader has been ordered to return nearly USD $2.8 million, and the HDZ has been ordered to return over USD $5 million. HDZ President Tomislav Karamarko claims that the charges were politically motivated and plans to appeal. This marks the first time a Croatian political party has been convicted of corruption.

This is the second corruption conviction for Sanader who was sentenced in 2012 to 10 years in prison. In September 2011 Croatian prosecutors announced that they had charged Sanader with embezzlement relating to a real estate deal that took place during his time in office. Sanader was accused of using government funds to purchase a building in the capital city of Zagreb at an inflated price and stealing the surplus.