The Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime issued a statement about today’s arrests related to the case of the collapse of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad. 15 people are under investigation, and the suspects are accused of damaging the budget of Serbia for 115 million dollars.
“As a result of the work so far of the Strike Force for the investigation of financial flows related to the project ‘Modernization and reconstruction of the Hungarian-Serbian railway line on the route Novi Sad- Subotica – state border (Kelebija)’ whose members are police officers of the Service for the Fight against Organized Crime – Department for the Suppression of Financial Organized Crime and the Section for the Prevention of Money Laundering, the Department for the Fight against Corruption, inspectors of the Tax Police, members of the Financial Investigation Unit, employees of the Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Business Registers Agency, and the team of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime, which consists of four public prosecutors, three financial forensic experts and two prosecutorial associates, six people have been deprived of their liberty today due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that corrupt criminal acts were committed, namely: Tomislav Momirović, former minister in the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure in the period from October 2020 to October 2022, Anita Dimoski, former acting assistant minister in this ministry and head of the Sector for Railways and Intermodal Transport in the period from November 2020, who was also the responsible person-mentor in this ministry for monitoring and realization of all activities on the project of the Hungarian-Serbian railway, section Belgrade-center – Stara Pazova and section Novi Sad – Subotica – state border (Kelebija) Nebojša Šurlan, who was the acting general director of the business company ‘Infrastruktura železnice Srbije’ a.d. Belgrade from May 2020 to March 2024 due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that they committed the criminal act of abuse of official position from Article 359 of the Criminal Code,” the statement says and adds:
“Then Nikola Trivić, the responsible person in the business company ‘Starting’ doo. from Belgrade, who is suspected of committing the criminal act of abuse of position of a responsible person from Article 227 of the Criminal Code, Siniša Jokić, who in the period from January to July 2023 acted as the director of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the City of Novi Sad, Veljko Novaković, an official for public procurement of this institute, who are accused of committing the criminal act of abuse of official position from Article 359 of the Criminal Code. The procedure also includes Goran Vesić, who was a minister in the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure in the period from October 2022 to November 2024, and who has been in hospital since yesterday, while Goran Rosić, the responsible person of ‘TECO’ doo, who actually manages the business companies ‘Pro+Service centre’ doo, ‘Bambino shoes’ and ‘Zevas’ doo, Nenad Ignjatović, the responsible person and owner of the business company ‘Deko tim’ doo from Beška, who is suspected of committing criminal acts of tax fraud in connection with VAT from Article 173a of the Law on Tax Procedure and Tax Administration and tax evasion from Article 225 of the Criminal Code and money laundering from Article 245 of the Criminal Code, as well as Slobodanka Katanić, who was the investment manager of the business company ‘Infrastruktura železnice Srbije’ a.d. Belgrade and the project manager of the modernization and reconstruction of the Hungarian-Serbian railway connection Belgrade – Budapest, were not found at their place of residence”.
Searches still underway
Searches and detentions for five more people are underway, states JTOK.
“By concluding Annex 1 of the Commercial Agreement, Agreement 1, and Annexes 2, 3, and 4 of the Commercial Agreement, the suspects Momirović, Vesić, Dimoski, Šurlan and Katanić enabled the contractor ‘CRIC – CCCC’ to so far invoice the total value of the performed works on the project in the amount of 1,214,100,460.43 USD to the financier and investor, as well as to perform additional works for which the obligation of subsequent payment upon invoicing was assumed in the value of 64,258,060.00 USD, thereby providing the contractor ‘CRIC – CCCC’ with a financial gain, in the so far determined value of at least 18,759,287 USD, and causing damage to the budget of the Republic of Serbia in the amount of 115,558,520.43 US dollars, which represents the difference between the assumed financial obligations for the budget of the Republic of Serbia and the contractual price from the Commercial Agreement,” the statement says.
The Strike Force will continue its work in the coming period on the investigation of financial flows concerning other aspects of the project “Modernization and reconstruction of the Hungarian-Serbian railway line on the route Novi Sad – Subotica – state border (Kelebija)”.
MORE TOPICS:
DODIK CONVICTED: One year in prison and a six-year ban on holding political office!
Source: Nova.rs, Photo: Prinstscreen/Google Earth