German federal prosecutors said that Zdravko Mustac was charged on July 22 following his extradition in April from Croatia.
The 72-year-old Mustac now holds Croatian citizenship.
Prosecutors said in a statement on August 12 that Mustac, as head of the Yugoslav secret service, most likely gave the order to murder Stjepan Durekovic, a leading Yugoslav dissident.
Durekovic was killed on July 28, 1983 near Munich.
The prosecutors wrote that Mustac probably ordered his subordinate, Josip Perkovic, to plan the murder. Perkovic was also extradited to Germany earlier this year.
Durekovic's killer was never identified, Radio Free Europe reports - Oculus News