One of the attorneys, Ivan Lovric, said they had agreed with Sanader not to give statements.

"We made a promise to (him). We have nothing useful for you and the rest is really confidential," Lovric told Nova TV, which said the talks lasted two and a half hours.

Lovric and the other lawyers from Sanader's Zagreb team were unavailable to Hina for comment.

Yesterday it was announced that after visiting the former premier, the lawyers would talk with his Austrian defence counsel about offering bail for Sanader's release.

A spokesperson for the prosecutor's office in Salzburg said last week it was not known if Sanader would offer posting bail, but added that release on bail was unlikely at the moment due to "the possibility of hiding facts and tampering with witnesses."

It is unknown if, at a hearing scheduled for December 27, Sanader will oppose Croatia's request for his extradition, or if he is ready for tomorrow's deposition via video link before a Carinthian parliamentary commission investigating wrongdoing in the Hypo bank case.

Croatia has requested Sanader's extradition on suspicion of conspiracy in corruption involving the Fimi Media advertising firm and of abuse of office in unlawful operations involving the HEP power company and the Dioki petrochemical company. The national anti-corruption office USKOK has launched an investigation into Sanader, while a Zagreb County Court judge has set month-long detention for him.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office in Innsbruck has launched an investigation into Sanader following a Tyrolean bank's report of money laundering, according to which Sanader may have accounts in Tyrol linked to Croatia's suspicions against him.

If the Austrian suspicions against Sanader are based on facts, criminal proceedings could be launched against him, which would delay his extradition to Croatia.