Croatia’s former prime minister, Ivo Sanader, was arrested in Austria. Ivo Sanader was arrested on Friday in Austria, a day after fleeing his country, the interior ministries in Vienna and Zagreb confirmed. "He was arrested at around 3.45 pm (1445 GMT) in Salzburg province," Austrian Interior Ministry spokesman Michael Girardi said. Austrian police confirmed that he was arrested rather than surrendering voluntarily.
Sanader fled Croatia on Thursday, hours before the parliament stripped him of his immunity from prosecution and paved the way for his arrest warrant. He was arrested while paying a highway toll and taken to court in Salzburg for the start of extradition procedures, Croatia’s interior ministry said.
Sanader is wanted for alleged corruption, police said. A spokeswoman for the regional public prosecutor said Sanader would be transferred to a prison in the town of Salzburg, and that her office would deal with the extradition request in due course.
Croatia's Office for Suppression of Organised Crime and Corruption said Sanader was suspected of conspiring to commit crimes and abuse of office. It did not disclose details of the investigation, but at its request the Zagreb district court ordered Sanader to be detained for 30 days.
Croatian media have speculated for months about a wide-ranging investigation into corruption and Sanader's likely arrest. The corruption is said to involve tens of millions of dollars.
His chosen successor, Jadranka Kosor, pledged “zero tolerance” of corruption and used the house-cleaning campaign to marginalise her former political mentor. Mr Sanader could face charges relating to bribery and to allegations that the state electricity gave cheaper electricity to favoured companies, state television said. USKOK’s investigators have also attempted to tie him to loan scandals at the Austrian bank, Hypo Alpe Adria.
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