The Zagreb County Court will deliver its judgement in the case of former defence minister Berislav Roncevic and his assistant Ivo Bacic on Monday, December 6.
The court on Friday heard closing statements from the defence and prosecutors from the Office for the Prevention of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK).
The accused are charged with defrauding the state budget of 10.2 million kuna by making a direct deal with the Iveco company for the purchase of military trucks for the Croatian armed forces.
The defence reiterated that cheaper trucks offered by MAN did not meet the needs of the Croatian military because they did not use fuel prescribed by NATO standards and did not have a sufficient carrying capacity.
USKOK claimed that expert opinions showed that the cheaper MAN vehicles were of a better quality than those offered by Iveco. The prosecution recommended that Roncevic and Bacic be found guilty and ordered to pay back the 10.2 million kuna.
Roncevic's attorney Kresimir Vilajtovic recalled the statement made by former justice minister Ivan Simonovic at the start of the trial that the investigation of Roncevic was a condition for the opening of Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) in Croatia's EU membership negotiations.
