Ex-PM denies pocketing huge sums in scandal
Former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader pleaded not guilty to charges that he and his ex-ruling party siphoned nearly 10 million euros (£8.2m) in public funds received from illegal donations.
The corruption scandal is the biggest since Croatia became an independent state in 1991. Sanader is the highest ranking former official tried for alleged corruption in the country, which has pledged to improve as it heads toward European Union membership in 2013.
He is charged with ordering state companies to make illegal payments to a media firm, from which he and three other ranking party officials pocketed millions while he was prime minister.