A verdict in the bribery case of former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader and the CEO of the Hungarian energy group MOL, Zsolt Hernadi, will be announced by Zagreb County Court on Monday, December 30.

The announcement was made by judge Maja Stampar Stipic on Thursday after the prosecution and defence presented their closing statements.

The retrial of Sanader and Hernadi opened on October 23 last year, when Sanader denied the charges, just as he had at the initial trial when Hernadi had not been charged yet.

Sanader is charged with accepting a €10 million bribe from Hernadi to yield management rights over the Croatian oil and gas company INA to MOL. He is also accused of agreeing with Hernadi to divest the unprofitable gas business from INA.

The indictment recommends that if found guilty Sanader should return the €10 million to the state.

In their closing statement, prosecutors from the national anti-corruption office USKOK said that as the highest ranking state official, Sanader had betrayed and jeopardised the vital economic interests of Croatia by accepting a bribe from Hernadi. A portion of the bribe was paid through a Swiss company owned by Robert Jezic. The defence said that the verdict could not be based on Jezic’s testimony alone, describing Jezic as an unreliable witness.

Sanader was not present in court because he was recovering from surgery.