The court recently ruled detention for Kutle, who has been on the run, and the police issued a warrant for his arrest.

Kutle's attorneys submitted medical documentation from Mostar to account for their client's absence from a previous hearing but a court expert, who studied the documentation, concluded that he was fit to attend court proceedings so the judge in charge of the case asked a panel of judges for an opinion. The panel ruled detention for him, after which a warrant for his arrest was issued.

After Kutle's attorneys submitted the said medical documentation, the media started speculating that the businessman was in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At today's hearing, Kutle's defence counsel did not submit additional medical documentation.

The court has already questioned 80 witnesses in the malfeasance case in the Gradski Podrum case. Apart from Kutle, also indicted in this case are Ilija Milisic and Mario Piskuric.

Rahela Valentic, who chairs the panel of judges conducting the trial, said the next hearing would be held when Kutle's attendance was ensured. Kutle was previously sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for wrongdoing in the Gradski Podrum company.

The Gradski Podrum case was divided into two cases, of which one is still under way. In the other case, he was sentenced to prison because his Globus Group acquired shares of Gradski Podrum on the basis of fictitious documentation on nonexistent claims, which constituted misuse of the 1990s privatisation model.

The verdict in that case, which was upheld by the Zagreb County Court in September this year, should become enforceable by the end of this week because, even though Kutle has not been served with it, it was made known on the notice board of the Zagreb Municipal Court where the trial was conducted.

Fifteen days from its being made public on the court's notice board, the verdict is considered to have been delivered normally and the procedure is launched to enforce it.