"Ivo Sanader can't be guilty of everything while others are acting as if they knew nothing. Kicking a man when he's down makes no sense," Pancic told reporters, adding he was pressing the charges in line with the law on the criminal accountability of legal persons, on the grounds of "unquestionably established facts which can be read in the media as well."

Pancic said the first of those was the alleged existence of a HDZ slush fund, mentioned in testimonies by former HDZ treasurer Mladen Barisic and the supervisory board chairman of the Monting PIM company, Ljubo Busic, who allegedly told USKOK that he and three other entrepreneurs had paid the HDZ 600,000 kuna (approx. 81,000 euros).

According to Pancic, USKOK should also clear up the purchase of a luxury BMW and look into not only Sanader's claims that the decision to buy the car was made by the HDZ Presidency, but also the fact that the party paid the levies on the car and returned it to the manufacturer, which Pancic says proves that the party leadership knew about it.

He also accused the HDZ of fictitiously employing its member Rade Buljubasic in the state-owned power provider HEP, saying the party should have been aware of this as, instead of going to work in HEP, Buljubasic was coming to work at the HDZ headquarters.

"I feel this supports (State Prosecutor) Mladen Bajic to persevere in his fight against political corruption in the highest circles," Pancic said, adding the public rightfully wondered why only Sanader was being accused of corruption and not the HDZ as well.

Pancic, who is Croatian parliamentarian, said he would inform all groups in the European Parliament about his criminal charges against the HDZ.