Robert Matanic, charged with putting together a criminal group, was sentenced to 33 years in jail. His cousin Luka Matanic and their friend Amir Mafalani were each given 16 years.

Zeljko Milovanovic, who committed the murder by activating a device that blew up Pukanic, was sentenced in absence to 40 years in jail, while Bojan Guduric, who was to have shot Pukanic if the explosive misfired, was given 30 years.

Slobodan Djurovic was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for being the killers' connection with Sreten Jocic, who allegedly paid EUR 1.5 million to have Pukanic killed. Jocic is on trial in this case in Belgrade, together with Milovanovic and Zoran Kuzmanovic.

According to the indictment by Croatia's Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK), the Pukanic murder was organised to prevent him from writing about the activities of criminal groups. His assassination is considered a crime against journalism and democracy. Although the persons who commissioned the murder and paid for it remain unknown, USKOK believes they come from the international tobacco mafia which decided to kill Pukanic after he testified in Italy about their deals.

Apart from killing Pukanic, a journalist and co-owner of Nacional weekly, and Franjic, a collateral victim, the accused were also charged with endangering other people's lives and causing major material damage with the explosion in front of Nacional's building in downtown Zagreb on 23 October 2008.

USKOK also suspected them of planning the murder of businessman Hrvoje Petrac and his son Novica, but Judge Ivana Krsul ruled that they had planned to kill two unidentified persons.