Former Croatian PM Jailed for Accepting Bribes from Hungary's MOL

Hungarian oil and gas company MOL denied any wrongdoing after former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader was jailed for 10 years for taking bribes from the integrated energy group and an Austrian bank.

"This is an initial, preliminary ruling; we have many times rejected categorically the accusations made against MOL and we will continue to do so," MOL communications director Dora Somlyai told Reuters after the sentencing.

Shares in the Hungarian energy group were trading down by 2.85% on the Budapest stock exchange Tuesday afternoon.

Sanader, who held office from 2003 to 2009, was convicted of taking millions of dollars in bribes from MOL and Austrian bank Hypo Alpe Adria Group, the BBC reported.

The former leader denied wrongdoing at his trial but was found guilty of accepting a bribe of $12.8m from MOL in return for securing it controlling rights in INA.

Sanader was also convicted of taking $695,000 in bribes in 1995, when he was a deputy foreign minister, for a credit deal with Hypo Alpe Adria Group, which gave the Austrian bank a leading position in Croatia.

In Hungary, MOL was cleared of any criminal charges in the matter earlier this year. State prosecutors have closed their investigation.