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Croatia asks Austria to extradite ex-PM Sanader

13 December 2010 22:55 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Croatia asked Austria on Monday to extradite former prime minister Ivo Sanader, detained last week and wanted at home in a corruption investigation that may help Croatia’s European Union membership bid, APA reports quoting â€œReutersâ€.
"We have filed an extradition request with a relevant documentation to the Austrian Justice Ministry. At the moment we cannot say when we will get a reply," the Justice Ministry spokeswoman Vesna Dovranic said.
Sanader, 57, was arrested in western Austria on Friday after Croatia issued an international arrest warrant for him. He is the highest-ranking Croatian official to be investigated for corruption.
Sanader denies all accusations, saying they were politically motivated.
The Croatian authorities said that banking accounts of Sanader and his family were blocked.
Croatia hopes to conclude EU entry talks next year and join in 2013 but first has to prove to Brussels it is earnestly fighting widespread corruption at all levels.
An Austrian judge remanded him in custody in a prison in Salzburg at the weekend. The judge approved Sanader’s continued detention for at least 14 days.
Sanader left Croatia on Thursday shortly before parliament lifted his immunity from prosecution. Prosecutors suspect him of being behind a plan to divert funds from public companies for private and party purposes during his 2004-09 period in office.
Sanader, a smartly-dressed multilingual theater expert, dominated Croatia’s political life in the past decade and was credited with making possible the start of Zagreb’s EU entry talks in 2005.
During his second term in government, media started reporting about his personal wealth, including a collection of highly expensive wristwatches.
He resigned unexpectedly and with no explanation in July 2009. His ruling HDZ party expelled him in January after his attempt to stage a come-back found few supporters.