A group of Covic's friends mortgaged real estate worth more than 1.5 million euros as guarantee that Covic, who has been sentenced to five years in jail, will not flee the country before proceedings against him were over and the sentence became final.
Covic had to hand in his Bosnian and Croatian passports and commit to reporting to the police in Mostar, his city of residence, once a week.
Covic said he did not intend nor had intended to escape from Bosnia. He was sentenced for abuse of office and power in the Lijanovici case, while all the other accused were acquitted.
Covic said his lawyers would appeal the sentence.
Asked to comment on the fact that Bosnia's new authorities had not been formed yet, although elections were held on October 1, he said this should be done as soon as possible and that his party intended to help.
He declined to comment on the possibility of the HDZ BiH participating in the executive authority together with the HDZ 1990, saying he and his party could cooperate with all who wished Bosnia well.