Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić relies on ultra-loyalist circles with criminal connections in an effort to weaken the anti-corruption movement, the Paris-based newspaper Le Monde reports in an extensive article on corruption.
The article questions what 87 Serbian men, described as violent individuals, intended to do in Montenegro after arriving on Wednesday, June 3, aboard a mysterious charter flight specially organized from Belgrade. As Montenegro, a country of around 600,000 people, prepared to host a major European Union-Western Balkans summit in Tivat two days later—with the participation of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz among others—Montenegrin police reportedly turned back the group. Some of the individuals were already known to law enforcement and were allegedly carrying communication devices and banners supporting Serbian nationalist President Aleksandar Vučić.
While the pro-European government in Podgorica remained cautious regarding the sensitive matter, local media, citing the passenger list, reported that the Air Serbia flight carried several unusual passengers, according to Le Monde. A number of them had previously been involved in violent incidents on the sidelines of pro-government rallies organized in recent months to counter widespread anti-corruption protests that have shaken Serbia since the collapse of a concrete canopy at the Novi Sad railway station in November 2024.
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Some of the individuals are regular visitors to an informal camp of Vučić supporters that has occupied a park in central Belgrade for more than a year. The camp, known as “Ćaciland,” consists of white tents and is reportedly populated by imposing men who prevent curious onlookers from approaching the presidential headquarters in the city center.
For many Belgrade residents intimidated by these groups, Ćaciland has become a symbol of how Vučić, who has been in power since 2014, relies on football ultra groups with established criminal connections in an attempt to suppress anti-corruption anger, which the newspaper claims has largely subsided. Attacks involving automatic weapons and Molotov cocktails have reportedly increased in Belgrade bars and cafés, while business owners claim they have been targeted in extortion attempts.
Although there is no indication that these incidents are directly connected, an even darker scandal has shaken the city following the dramatic arrest of Belgrade police chief Veselin Milić on May 15 in connection with a murder case that took place at a well-known restaurant in an upscale district of the capital. He was accused of attempting to shield the alleged perpetrators, while Milić himself claimed he was the victim of a mysterious “conspiracy” orchestrated by fellow officers. However, on Tuesday, June 9, prosecutors unexpectedly announced that there was “no evidence” against him and decided not to pursue charges.
On June 10, the commander of Belgrade’s intervention police unit was also arrested, allegedly for covering up an attempted criminal settling of scores that occurred in November 2025 at another restaurant. In a country where most major media outlets are controlled by the government, many Serbs have given up hope of learning the full truth about these and numerous other cases.
“Citizens have no trust in the police because no one can distinguish a criminal from a police officer anymore,” former police commander Bogoljub Živković told the news portal Radar. He added that he was forced into retirement in 2025 simply because his son participated in anti-government protests.
Weakened by government pressure, Serbia’s judiciary remains ineffective and is still struggling to conclude the lengthy trial that began in 2022 against the criminal clan led by Veljko Belivuk. The former football supporters’ group leader, arrested in 2021, is accused, among other things, of disposing of victims’ bodies by grinding them in a meat grinder before dumping the remains into the Danube River.
Since the beginning of the trial, Belivuk has claimed that he secretly worked for the ruling party, allegations Vučić has consistently dismissed as “lies.” The same label has been applied to reports by the investigative outlet KRIK, which in 2024 and 2025 cited intercepted conversations among Serbian criminals and alleged links with members of the presidential security detail.
French police, who obtained incriminating messages during an operation targeting the encrypted messaging service Sky ECC, may hold key information about the affair, but no details have been publicly released. Macron has defended Vučić since Serbia purchased 12 Rafale fighter jets from France in 2024, Le Monde noted.
At the summit in Tivat, the French president reiterated that “Serbia is working tirelessly” on its European Union accession process and that he wished to “believe in the president’s (Vučić’s) commitment to reforms,” the Paris newspaper reported.
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Source: Danas.rs Foto:Aleksandar Vučić/ Printscreen N1