Testifying via videolink from the Zagreb County Court, Sipusic told the Belgrade High Court that, after hearing about the Pukanic murder in Zagreb in late 2008, he called Mafalani to ask him if that was what he had been talking about, but Mafalani denied it.

Sipusic said he did not consider Mafalani a person who could have anything to do with such a serious crime.

Sipusic said he did not notify anybody about what Mafalani had told him, as the information was generalised and incomplete, insufficient for taking further action.

After presiding judge said that, in his deposition, Mafalani said he told Sipusic that Robert Matanic had organised the Pukanic murder, Sipusic denied this, saying he would have reacted had Mafalani told him something like that.

The prosecutors in Belgrade charge Sreten Jocic, Zeljko Milovanovic and Milenko Kuzmanovic with conspiracy to commit murder and with murder in this case.

The Zagreb County Court on November 3, 2010 sentenced to imprisonment six men, including Milovanovic, who had been tried in his absence, for the killing of Pukanic and Franjic, who was a collateral victim.

Robert Matanic, who under the indictment had organised a criminal group, was sentenced to 33 years in prison. His cousin Luka Matanic and their friend Mafalani were each given 16 years in prison for aiding and abetting in the murder.

The direct perpetrator of the crime, Milovanovic, charged with detonating the explosive device that killed Pukanic, was sentenced in his absence to 40 years' imprisonment, while Bojan Guduric was given 30 year in prison because he was to have shot Pukanic in case the explosive device failed to go off.

Slobodan Djurovic was sentenced to 15 years in prison on the charge that he served as a link between the assassins and Jocic, who allegedly paid EUR 1.5 million to have Pukanic killed.

The Belgrade trial resumes on October 10.