Mišković Awaits Financial Investigation into the Privatization of Road Companies

The Serbian State Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime confirmed on Wednesday that it will initiate a financial investigation against Serbian tycoon Miroslav Mišković, his son Marko, and a group that was arrested alongside them during the morning in Belgrade and Niš, due to irregularities in the privatization of road companies.

The Serbian Criminal Police arrested one of the richest Serbs and owner of ‘Delta Holding’, Miroslav Mišković, his son Marko, and eight other individuals linked to illegal activities in the privatization of road companies on Wednesday morning. They have been placed in police custody for up to 48 hours, and interrogations have begun.

– We will attempt to conduct a serious financial investigation and determine, above all, whether any of the suspects possess assets derived from criminal activity – said Miljko Radisavljević, the state prosecutor for organized crime, to Serbian media in Belgrade. He emphasized that the Criminal Police Administration has collected a wealth of documents and materials in a relatively short time, which will assist the state prosecutor’s office in further conducting the criminal proceedings.

– I hope we can prove the fundamental thesis that behind the business of (privatizing) road companies lies brutal extraction of money and capital and the acquisition of illegal property benefits by individuals involved in the privatization process and operations of these companies – said Serbian state prosecutor for organized crime Miljko Radosavljević.

The arrest operation of one of Serbia’s leading entrepreneurs, as claimed by some Belgrade media, was marked by an incident as Miroslav Mišković allegedly threatened Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić that he ‘would not make it to tonight’s show’ on Radio-Television of Serbia. It was previously announced that Vučić would be a guest on a television program at 9 PM, and according to police sources, Vučić’s personal security was subsequently increased.

The law firm representing Mišković’s ‘Delta Holding’ responded by claiming that this is a media manipulation.

– It is true that Miroslav (Mišković) said that ‘Aleksandar (Vučić) cannot come to RTS tonight if he does not arrest me first’ – stated the legal team of ‘Delta Holding’. Miroslav and Marko Mišković have been interrogated by the police in recent days as citizens, and on Saturday, the police prevented Marko Mišković from leaving the country on a private jet to London, confiscating his passport. Miroslav Mišković was last interrogated by the police on Monday.

Miroslav Mišković is the owner of a business system that employed 25,000 people until last year and generated three billion euros in total revenue, and today has 7,700 employees and is one of the five largest companies in Serbia. In early 2011, Mišković sold the retail chain Delta Maxi to the Belgian company Delhaize for 932.5 million euros.

Mišković recently came under media and public scrutiny after Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić announced in the second half of November, as part of a series of anti-corruption actions, that preliminary investigations into the business operations of Delta Holding owner Miroslav Mišković had begun.

Mišković began to accumulate his business empire and great wealth by leveraging the privileged position he held due to connections with the regime of Slobodan Milošević.