The police initially banned and then allowed the wife and daughter of former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, who is held in detention in Austria, to enter their house in Zagreb, but the house is still under police surveillance.

According to the statement of Sanader's family attorney Jasna Novak, the police seized the passports of Sanader's wife and daughter but did not arrest them. The Croatian Interior Ministry (MUP) denied Novak's earlier statement that Sanader's house was sealed, adding that the police is following a court order and that the house is under surveillance.

"The wife and daughter of former prime minister are allowed to enter and exit the house, but under close surveillance," MUP spokesperson Krunoslav Borovec told the journalists.

The media report that, by order of the court, the police started confiscating Sanader's art collection on Thursday. The paintings which are allegedly worth five times more than Sanader reported were confiscated from his house in Split and business premises in Zagreb.

The court order carried out on Thursday in three Sanader's addresses is the continuation of the temporary assets blockage until the completion of criminal proceedings.