In a large anti-corruption police operation last night in Serbia, 79 people were arrested, including a several former officials, said the Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic.
At an extraordinary press conference, Interior Minister Nebojshe Stefanovic said that among the 79 arrested, former Minister Slobodan Milosavljevic and former Director of the Agency for Combating Corruption Zoran Markvik, and Zeljko Zunik a businessman and the owner of “Beohemija”. Among the arrested and those detained include two assistant ministers, directors of public companies, businessmen and former and current presidents of municipalities. Stefanovic announced that there would be criminal charges filed for another 39 people.
All were arrested due to suspicion from 2004 where they committed several crimes and have caused the state in damages more than 100 million euros. Stefanovic specified that the arrests were made because of corruption in 20 different cases.
According to him, the crimes of the 2004 money laundering, abuse of official position, accepting and giving bribes, abuse of public procural. corruption in agriculture and letting out construction land to local governments.
The Serbian Minister stated that the police operations were carried out to prevent financial crime and corruption, and the abuse of state authorities and added that the people detained were brought on more charges due to reasonable doubt that from 2004 until now they were still committing more crimes.
