Vienna - Austria on Thursday extradited a former Croatian general for trial on embezzlement charges in his homeland, news reports said.

Vladimir Zagorec, 44, a weapons buyer for Croatian forces during the Balkan nation's 1991-95 war of independence from Yugoslavia, was handed over to Croatia after the Austrian constitutional court threw out his appeal against extradition, Austria's APA news agency said.

Considered one of Croatia's richest men, Zagorec was arrested in Vienna on September 26 after authorities considered him a flight risk. He was placed on a plane to the capital Zagreb on Thursday, Croatia's HINA news agency reported.

Croatian prosecutors have charged Zagorec, a former deputy defence minister, with abuse of power and defrauding the Croatian government of 5 million dollars.

The now-retired general was a close associate of the late Croatian president Franjo Tudjman, who led the newly independent country in its war with better-armed Yugoslav and Serb forces.

Zagorec has lived in Austria since 2000. After Croatia started legal proceedings against him last year, he was arrested in Vienna in March 2007, then released on bail. (dpa)