Croatia's top court order retrial for ex-PM Sanader

Former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader sits at a county court in Zagreb November 20, 2012. REUTERS/Antonio Bronic/Files

ZAGREB (Reuters) - Croatia's Constitutional Court has ordered a retrial of ex-Prime Minister Ivo Sanader after he successfully appealed against the guilty verdict handed down on corruption charges. He was found guilty of taking a bribe from Hungarian oil group MOL in exchange for allowing it a dominant position in Croatian oil firm INA. "The court has accepted the appeal and annulled the verdict," the court said on its website, citing procedural errors. It added the case would be returned to the Zagreb county court for a retrial. Last year, Croatia's Supreme court confirmed Sanader's guilty verdict but cut his prison term to eight and a half years. Sanader and Hungary's MOL, which owns just under 50 percent of INA, have denied any wrongdoing. (Reporting by Zoran Radosavljevic; Editing by Alison Williams)