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

Croatia's former premier Ivo Sanader was convicted on Monday of war profiteering, in a re-trial that found him guilty of taking a bribe from an Austrian bank during the country's 1990s conflict.

Sanader, who steered Croatia into NATO and to the doorstep of the European Union in the 2000s, was sentenced to two and half years in prison for accepting nearly 500,000 euros ($558,500) in bribes from Austria's Hypo Group Alpe Adria bank.&nbsp;

But the former prime minister, who can appeal the verdict, will not have to go jail as he already served time in a previous sentence and detention period.

The Zagreb court said Sanader, 65, accepted the bribes as deputy foreign minister in the mid-1990s, during the country's independence war and the bloody breakup of former Yugoslavia.&nbsp;

The cash came in the form of a five per cent commission Sanader collected on the bank loan that was used to pay for Croatian embassies abroad, the court said.&nbsp;

"He abused his position and authorities ... to earn himself significant illegal gains," said judge Jasna Galesic.

He was sentenced to two years and six months in jail for "abuse of power and... war profiteering," she added.

Sanader will also have to pay the state back for the amount he took in bribes, the judge said.

Sanader was first sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2012 for taking bribes from the bank as well as pocketing millions of euros from Hungary's energy giant MOL.

But the sentence was later cut to eight-and-half years before the country's top court quashed it in 2014, saying Sanader's right to a fair trial had been violated.

A retrial was ordered and the two cases were separated.

Sanader, who led the government from 2003-2009 and faces several other graft cases, pleaded not guilty when the retrial opened in March.

In a separate trial on Monday, the Zagreb court acquitted him on abuse of power charges over the sale of electricity from the state-run power firm HEP to two local companies at below-market prices.

Sanader is the highest Croatian official to be charged with corruption since the country proclaimed independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

Tackling graft was key for Croatia's successful bid to join the EU in 2013.

Croatia's former premier Ivo Sanader was convicted on Monday of war profiteering, in a re-trial that found him guilty of taking a bribe from an Austrian bank during the country's 1990s conflict.

Croatia's former premier Ivo Sanader was convicted on Monday of war profiteering, in a re-trial that found him guilty of taking a bribe from an Austrian bank during the country's 1990s conflict. Sanader, who steered Croatia into NATO and to the doorstep of the European Union in the 2000s, was sentenced to two and half years in prison for accepting nearly 500,000 euros ($558,500) in bribes from Austria's Hypo Group Alpe Adria bank. But the former prime minister, who can appeal the verdict, will not have to go jail as he already served time in a previous sentence and detention period. The Zagreb court said Sanader, 65, accepted the bribes as deputy foreign minister in the mid-1990s, during the country's independence war and the bloody breakup of former Yugoslavia. The cash came in the form of a five per cent commission Sanader collected on the bank loan that was used to pay for Croatian embassies abroad, the court said. "He abused his position and authorities ... to earn himself significant illegal gains," said judge Jasna Galesic. He was sentenced to two years and six months in jail for "abuse of power and... war profiteering," she added. Sanader will also have to pay the state back for the amount he took in bribes, the judge said. Sanader was first sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2012 for taking bribes from the bank as well as pocketing millions of euros from Hungary's energy giant MOL. But the sentence was later cut to eight-and-half years before the country's top court quashed it in 2014, saying Sanader's right to a fair trial had been violated. A retrial was ordered and the two cases were separated. Sanader, who led the government from 2003-2009 and faces several other graft cases, pleaded not guilty when the retrial opened in March. In a separate trial on Monday, the Zagreb court acquitted him on abuse of power charges over the sale of electricity from the state-run power firm HEP to two local companies at below-market prices. Sanader is the highest Croatian official to be charged with corruption since the country proclaimed independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. Tackling graft was key for Croatia's successful bid to join the EU in 2013.

Former Croatian PM Ivo Sanader convicted of war profiteering

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Croatia jails ex-PM for running embezzlement network

Former Croatian PM Ivo Sanader convicted of war profiteering