Former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, wanted in connection with an anti-corruption investigation, was arrested on a highway in Austria on Friday, the Austrian federal crime office said. Sanader left Croatia on Thursday shortly before parliament lifted his immunity from prosecution. Prosecutors suspect him of being behind a plan to create slush funds for his conservative HDZ party during his 2004-09 tenure in power.
Sanader denies the accusations, saying they were politically motivated. He is the highest-ranking Croatian official investigated for corruption. Sanader was taken into custody in the western Salzburg province, federal crime office spokesman Alexander Marakovits said. "He will go to the Salzburg provincial court and then the authorities will have to decide what will happen with him in the next days or the next weeks," he said. A Croatian police spokesman, Krunoslav Borovec, said: "We now expect to receive relevant documentation to be able to start the procedure for extradition."
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