The court overruled a request by the national anti-corruption investigative agency (USKOK) for an extension of investigative custody for the three men.

The court established that there was no longer any risk of the three suspects obstructing the probe.

So far, 85 witnesses have been interviewed and another nine remain to be questioned.

Protega, Kirinic and Sladonja are suspected of granting between 2005 and 2007 more than HRK 210 million in loans which the bank can no longer collect. They are also suspected of paying themselves disproportionately high managerial bonuses and of having greenlighted, contrary to regulations, a HRK 77 million loan to a Zagreb-based company.