Zagreb - A Croatian court ordered Former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on Monday to remain jailed pending his trial on corruption charges, refusing an offer of 12.4 million kuna ($2.3 million) bail from his friends and family.

Judge Kresimir Devcic of Zagreb county court ruled that Sanader, who led the country from 2004-09, should be denied bail because there was a risk he might escape.

The case is part of an anti-corruption campaign launched by Sanader's hand-picked successor, Jadranka Kosor, to help meet criteria to join the European Union in 2013.

Sanader stepped down in July of 2009 without explanation, and was arrested in Austria last December. He told the court he had not been trying to evade justice and was on his way back home when he was held.

Prosecutors have indicted Sanader on two separate charges and he is also the subject of four other graft investigations. He denies wrongdoing.