A verdict in the trial of former Prime Minister and former president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) Ivo Sanader will be announced on Tuesday, 20 November after the Zagreb County Court heard the closing statements by the prosecution and the defence in the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank and INA-MOL cases.
The trial chamber presided by Judge Ivan Turudic will announce its verdict at 10 AM after the year-long trial.
While the prosecution claims that Sanader was a war profiteer for taking a commission of 10 million euro from the Austrian bank and that he had betrayed the country's national interests by ensuring the Hungarian oil company MOL a dominant position in Croatia's INA, the defence team is convinced that not one of the charges was proven.
The defence in its closing statement called on the court to acquit their client while the national anti-corruption office USKOK requested the maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
In his last statement to the court, Sanader said that he was not a criminal and recalled that he was legitimately elected in two elections by the Croatian people and that he was proud of the way he ran the government.
