The Zagreb County Court was to have considered the grounds for another indictment against former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on Tuesday, but the hearing was postponed until September 19 because one of the accused was ill.
In this case, Sanader and the former owner of the Dioki petrochemical group, Robert Jezic, are accused of inciting the then CEO of the HEP power company, Ivan Mravak, to grant a loan of HRK 15 million to Jezic's companies and to sell electricity below market prices.
A nearly identical indictment was already filed with the court last year, but the prosecutors withdrew it and returned it in May, amended with new expert opinions.
According to that indictment, the loan which Mravak had approved without the knowledge of the management board was eventually repaid, so that the damage done to HEP was estimated at HRK 3.8 million. By purchasing cheaper electricity from HEP, Dioki unlawfully "saved" HRK 1.95 million and Dina Petrokemija HRK 1.88 million.
Sanader has dismissed the charge that he abused his powers while serving as Prime Minister and head of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, while Mravak admitted the wrongdoing. Jezic at first denied the wrongdoing, but later became the principal prosecution witness in two other corruption cases in which Sanader was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
