The indictment charges four Ivankovic-Lijanovic brothers, owners of a meat processing company in the southern town of Siroki Brijeg, Croatian Democratic Union president Dragan Covic, Bosnian Constitutional Court president Mate Tadic and Sarajevo Law School professor Zdravko Lucic with customs fraud and tax evasion, the giving and taking of bribes, and abuse of office.
The court believes that there is no immediate danger of the accused escaping, said Judge Richard Gebelein, who presides the trial chamber in charge of the case.
The trial chamber ordered the accused not to leave their place of residence and report any plans of travel seven days in advance. He also ordered the accused to take a public pledge to attend all hearings.
The motion for setting bail or placing the accused in custody was made by prosecutor Jonathan Rattel, who recalled the recent escape of indictee Ante Jelavic, stating that there was a possibility that the main indictees in the Lijanovici case would do the same.
Before the decision on the motion was announced, defence counsel for the seven accused made their opening statements dismissing allegations from the indictment issued by the court's department for the fight against organised crime and corruption.
The defence counsel pointed to the fact that the basis for the indictment was a testimony by Zoran Nikolic, who was previously a protected witness.
After his identity was disclosed, the defence collected a vast body of evidence to support their claims that Nikolic was a person of questionable morality and was therefore a non-credible witness.
Attorney Zarko Bulic, who represents Mate Tadic, said among other things that the prosecution had failed to provide evidence for Nikolic's allegations about bribery.
The trial in the Lijanovici case is expected to resume on November 15.