Časar was taken straight to Dob prison to serve his almost six-year prison sentence for abuse of office and bribery during his time as Luka Koper boss in 2005-2009.

Since he fled, he will kept in the high-security ward of Dob even though the length of his term would have allowed him to stay in the semi-closed section.

"He made things difficult for himself by avoiding prison, but he made it easier for us to decide whether to keep him in the high-security or semi-open ward," Prison Administration head Jože Podržaj told the press today.

The fugitive was brought back to Slovenia after being on the run for around a year and after the Dominican Republic deported him to France at the beginning of this month.

Following his failure to report to prison in March 2014, the Slovenian police issued an international warrant for his arrest.

By then, he and his family had already settled in the Dominican Republic, where he was registered as a foreigner with temporary residence.

He also had a mango growing business there, based on his Croatian passport.

After a year-long manhunt, Časar was arrested in France at the beginning of the month.

While on the run, he paid for the legalisation of his illegally built house on the Slovenian coast, leaving a trace through his transaction account.

The investigation revealed that he had travelled from Slovenia first to Russia, then to Panama and from there to the Dominican Republic.

Časar was sentenced to six years by the Koper District Court in January 2013, but the Higher Court reduced the sentence by three months later that year.

He was found guilty of defrauding the state-owned port operator in several land deals in 2007 along with former MP Srečko Prijatelj and businessman Marjan Mikuž.

According to media reports, he faces further charges over allegedly phoney hiring of a security firm and a deal with builder Grafist that was allegedly detrimental to Luka Koper.

Luka Koper has also brought several damages suits against him running to several million euros.

The Koper District Court ruled in October 2014 that Časar and his former aide Aldo Babič must pay the port operator EUR 680,000 in damages because the company built a car depot without permits.

Apart from damages and legal costs, Časar will also have to pay for the cost of his arrest and extradition.