The court found that the bank approved the loans in line with legislation and internal rules.

The Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC), which has brought several claims against Probanka, demanded the return of EUR 1.09m due to a loan Probanka approved to the Medaljon financial holding, the daily Dnevnik reported on Wednesday.

The BAMC claimed the loan approved to Medaljon, which owned a 17.4% stake of Probanka, was not secured. The suspects rejected the claims, saying the loan was secured with a bill of exchange.

Medaljon, now bankrupt, was controlled by Tomaž Ročnik, the brother of then chairman Romana Pajenk.

Pajenk told the Maribor-based daily Večer that she had not been involved in the loans to Ročnik's companies and was "not really acquainted with the cases".

The news comes just a day after the National Bureau of Investigation conducted several house searches looking for evidence of abuse of office in the granting of loans to several companies owned by Ročnik.

It is unclear as yet whether the loan at the centre of the bad bank's dismissed damage claim is a part of the police investigation.