At a closed-door hearing, the panel found that Sanader's friends had posted EUR 300,000 bail in cash and that relevant courts had registered Incumbrances on property put up by his friends and wife so that he could be released on bail during trial. He has been detained at Remetinec since July 18, when Austria turned him over to Croatia.

Sanader swore before the panel of judges that he would not hide or leave his residence without the court's prior approval.

"All requirements under the Law on Criminal Procedure have been met and an order to suspend Sanader's custody is going to Remetinec at this moment and as soon as formalities are over, he will be released," Zagreb County Court spokesman Kresimir Devcic told the press, adding that Sanader had turned over his passport and that he would have to report to the investigating judge every first Monday of the month as long as necessary.

Devcic said Sanader would be returned to custody if any bail condition was violated and that if he fled, the HRK 12.6 million bail would go to the state.

The panel of judges remanded Sanader in custody last week after he was indicted in the Fimi Media corruption case but simultaneously replaced this decision with the highest bail in the history of the Croatian judiciary. This decision became effective yesterday after the Supreme Court turned down appeals lodged against it by Sanader's attorneys and the anti-corruption office USKOK.

Sanader has been behind bars for a year. He was arrested by Austrian police on December 10, 2010 and extradited to Croatia on July 18 to face corruption charges.

He is on trial for war profiteering, namely for taking HRK 3.6 million in commission from Austria's Hypo bank and EUR 10 million in bribes to give management rights in the Croatian oil company INA to Hungary's MOL.

Sanader has recently been indicted, together with his former party, the HDZ, in the Fimi Media case. This indictment has not been upheld yet.

Sanader is a suspect in a series of other corruption cases as well.