The owner of the Russian oil company Russneft, Mikhail Gutseriev, will be called to testify in a corruption trial against former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader.
In a statement to Hungarian prosecutors, Gutseriev has said the contrary of what the key witness in the INA-MOL trial, Robert Jezic, has testified.
A Zagreb County Court panel of judges today granted the defence's motion that Gutseriev be heard, ordering the anti-corruption office USKOK to submit the deposition he gave to Hungarian prosecutors, in which, according to the media, he said the money in the account of one of Jezic's companies had not been intended for Sanader but for Jezic.
Jezic has told the court that half of an alleged bribe Sanader received from the Hungarian oil company MOL in exchange for a dominant position in Croatia's INA, five million euros, was paid into the account of his Swiss company Xenoplast by MOL confidant Imre Fazekas, who was due to have testified today.
He too has told the Hungarian prosecutors that the money was intended for gas storage facilities which Russneft wanted to build in Omisalj, Croatia on land owned by Jezic's company Dioki.
During the investigation into the case, Jezic's story was backed by Xenoplast director Stefan Hurlimann, who said that Fazekas,had been connected with MOL and its director Zsolt Hernadi.
Hurlimann was due to testify tomorrow, but today's hearing heard that he said he would not testify tomorrow or any other day.
The witnesses that will testify include Sanader's brother Flavio who, according to Jezic, was supposed to take part in the payment of MOL's EUR 10-million bribe, former Agriculture Minister Bozidar Pankretic, former Croatian Peasant Party leader Josip Friscic, and former government spokesman Ratko Macek.
Several witnesses from Croatia and Austria will be also be questioned in the Hypo case, in which Sanader is indicted for war profiteering. The Hypo and INA-MOL cases are being tried together.
The main hearing resumes on April 12. Four days later, Sanader will be put on trial in the Fimi Media case in which he, his former party, the HDZ, and several former HDZ officials as well as owners of a few companies have been accused of syphoning HRK 70 million from state institutions and companies.
