EX-PM SENTENCED FOR WARTIME PROFITEERING

A Croatian court on Monday sentenced former prime minister Ivo Sanader, pictured, to 21/2 years in prison for war profiteering following his retrial in a highprofile corruption case.

The County Court of Zagreb, the capital, ruled that Sanader also must return about $750,000 in kickbacks he took in a deal with Austria’s Hypo Bank in the 1990s.

The court said Sanader, who was deputy foreign minister at the time, was guilty of war profiteering because he acted for his own benefit rather than Croatia’s during its 1992-95 war.

Sanader went on to serve as prime minister from 2003 to 2009. He is the highestranking official tried for corruption in Croatia.

Monday’s sentence was shorter than the three years Sanader received previously. Sanader’s lawyers said they would appeal.

“We believe that the verdict is absolutely baseless,” lawyer Cedo Prodanovic said.

Croatian state TV says Sanader was acquitted Monday in a separate corruption case.

Altogether, prosecutors had filed five corruption cases against Sanader since 2010.