A Croatian court on Friday sentenced former prime minister Ivo Sanader to eight years in jail for syphoning millions of euros from public funds in a long-running corruption case.

Sanader, who led Croatia into NATO during his 2003-2009 spell in office, organised a plot with other officials to "acquire significant financial gain" for himself and to finance their HDZ party, which was also accused in the case, the Zagreb court ruled.

Sanader directed embezzlement involving illegal donations and fictitious deals involving state-run firms, according to the verdict.&nbsp;

The former prime minister, currently serving a prison sentence for another corruption case, will also be required to pay 15.8 million kunas (two million euros, $2.5 million) once the verdict becomes final.

The conservative HDZ, which is still in power, was "responsible" for the crime and must pay some two million euros to the state budget, judge Irena Kvaternik said.

Of three other HDZ officials on trial, two were convicted and jailed and the other was acquitted.&nbsp;

The party said in a statement it rejected "any collective responsibility" and said it would appeal the ruling.

Sanader was first sentenced to nine years in jail for this case in 2014, in what was the first trial of its kind against a Croatian political party.

But the top court scrapped the ruling citing violations of criminal proceedings.

During the retrial all the defendants pleaded not guilty.

Since 2019 Sanader has been serving a six-year sentence for a separate corruption conviction and faces a slew of other allegations.

The 67-year-old did not attend Friday's hearing as he is recovering from surgery.

A Croatian court on Friday sentenced former prime minister Ivo Sanader to eight years in jail for syphoning millions of euros from public funds in a long-running corruption case.

A Croatian court on Friday sentenced former prime minister Ivo Sanader to eight years in jail for syphoning millions of euros from public funds in a long-running corruption case. Sanader, who led Croatia into NATO during his 2003-2009 spell in office, organised a plot with other officials to "acquire significant financial gain" for himself and to finance their HDZ party, which was also accused in the case, the Zagreb court ruled. Sanader directed embezzlement involving illegal donations and fictitious deals involving state-run firms, according to the verdict. The former prime minister, currently serving a prison sentence for another corruption case, will also be required to pay 15.8 million kunas (two million euros, $2.5 million) once the verdict becomes final. The conservative HDZ, which is still in power, was "responsible" for the crime and must pay some two million euros to the state budget, judge Irena Kvaternik said. Of three other HDZ officials on trial, two were convicted and jailed and the other was acquitted. The party said in a statement it rejected "any collective responsibility" and said it would appeal the ruling. Sanader was first sentenced to nine years in jail for this case in 2014, in what was the first trial of its kind against a Croatian political party. But the top court scrapped the ruling citing violations of criminal proceedings. During the retrial all the defendants pleaded not guilty. Since 2019 Sanader has been serving a six-year sentence for a separate corruption conviction and faces a slew of other allegations. The 67-year-old did not attend Friday's hearing as he is recovering from surgery.

Croatia jails ex-PM for running embezzlement network

According to the preliminary results of Croatia&#39;s&nbsp;elections on Sunday, the&nbsp;country looked set for a lengthy coalition horse-trading after voters declined to bring in a clear majority. 
 
Less than a year ago, within five months in power, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)-led coalition government had broken down owing to a conflict of interest scandal. This is the second ballot which may lead to another coalition. 
 
Early today, the 60 per cent votes counted pointed to HDZ winning over 61 seats while opposition Social Democrats (SDP) having 54. The centre-right party Most (the Bridge) stood third with 13 seats. 
 
Securing a majority in the 151-seat parliament may be difficult for HDZ. 
 
A low voter turnout indicated that the Croatians&nbsp;had lost interest in the voting process following a year of political deadlock which blocked reforms. 
 
The economy needs to emerge from a six-year recession, with an unemployment rate of 13 per cent, public debt up to 85 per cent of GDP and deficient investment climate. 
 
The previous coalition made a significant shift to the right, attacking the Serbs and putting restrictions on the media which further strained its ties with Serbia. 
 
However, the HDZ is now banking on Andrej Plenkovic, a more moderate leader who could gain support from the Serbs, AFP noted. 
 
Former member of the European parliament Plenkovic vowed to move from extremism and populism to the center-right. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m certain that we are the party that will have the privilege to form the next stable Croatian government,&quot; Plenkovic said today. 
 
Former prime minister Zoran Milanovic and Plenkovic&#39;s rival, however, said, &quot;It is too early to call the result.&quot; 
 
He also emphasised the need for a stable government, calling the previous government an &quot;unstable and destructive one.&quot; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

As per the 60 per cent votes counted, HDZ had 61 seats, while opposition SDP had 54; centre-right party Most came third with 13 seats

According to the preliminary results of Croatia's elections on Sunday, the country looked set for a lengthy coalition horse-trading after voters declined to bring in a clear majority. Less than a year ago, within five months in power, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)-led coalition government had broken down owing to a conflict of interest scandal. This is the second ballot which may lead to another coalition. Early today, the 60 per cent votes counted pointed to HDZ winning over 61 seats while opposition Social Democrats (SDP) having 54. The centre-right party Most (the Bridge) stood third with 13 seats. Securing a majority in the 151-seat parliament may be difficult for HDZ. A low voter turnout indicated that the Croatians had lost interest in the voting process following a year of political deadlock which blocked reforms. The economy needs to emerge from a six-year recession, with an unemployment rate of 13 per cent, public debt up to 85 per cent of GDP and deficient investment climate. The previous coalition made a significant shift to the right, attacking the Serbs and putting restrictions on the media which further strained its ties with Serbia. However, the HDZ is now banking on Andrej Plenkovic, a more moderate leader who could gain support from the Serbs, AFP noted. Former member of the European parliament Plenkovic vowed to move from extremism and populism to the center-right. "I'm certain that we are the party that will have the privilege to form the next stable Croatian government," Plenkovic said today. Former prime minister Zoran Milanovic and Plenkovic's rival, however, said, "It is too early to call the result." He also emphasised the need for a stable government, calling the previous government an "unstable and destructive one." (WION with inputs from agencies)

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Croatia jails ex-PM for running embezzlement network

Conservatives take lead in Croatia's election