Serbia | Cleaning up in Serbia

Police officers stand guard outside Alta Bank after the Serbian Central Bank revoked Alta Bank's operating license and initiated bankruptcy proceedings to protect the bank's depositors. Photo: dpa Friday evening in Belgrade, it is already dark and the November cold is spreading across Nemanjina Street. Just over a hundred people gathered in front of the Ministry of Justice. “Thieves, thieves, thieves” they shout again and again. The “Krov nad glavom” (Roof Over Your Head) initiative called for the rally. It's about evictions, private bailiffs and the great demand for justice. Passing buses and cars honk in solidarity.

Something has changed since October 25, when the Student List (SL) ousted the 14-year-ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) from power in early parliamentary elections. In the future, 140 experts selected by the student plenary will form the majority in the Skupština, the Serbian parliament. The government will also be formed from their circle. Now is the time for the laws to change, demands Stevan Živković from “Krov nad glavom”. The student list's program on housing is good, but it also needs to be implemented.

"The current regulation in the country of granting licenses for bailiffs to private entrepreneurs is bad and unacceptable," says Živković. “Their only motive is to make enormous profits from these orders.” Those listening boo. Some of them have suffered forced evictions themselves. Now there is great hope that the injustice will be dealt with in “free Serbia,” as Živković calls the country after election day. The private evictions have been around since 2011.

Belgrade had become prey to foreign and domestic investors through the SNS. Entire neighborhoods were demolished overnight for overpriced real estate. A whole system emerged: “An elite made up of untouchable bailiffs and a persecuted, exploited population was created,” Živković continues. That is why “the office of bailiff must be abolished immediately.”

Belgrade had become prey to foreign and domestic investors through the SNS. Entire neighborhoods were demolished overnight for overpriced real estate.

The desire for change is great in Serbia these days. And it seems that something is moving. In public institutions such as the National Library, theaters and schools, employees are demanding the resignation of bosses associated with the SNS. Farmers have their say on the state broadcaster "RTS" who criticize the failed agricultural policy of the elected government and attribute the misery in which they find themselves to the prescribed "European path" of adapting to the EU. There has rarely been such an open discussion in public in the past decade.

At the same time, the handcuffs click every day. The former head of the police's special anti-terrorism unit was arrested on Wednesday: Igor Žmirić and other suspects are accused of mistreating students in a government garage and threatening to rape a young woman. Small and large SNS officials are being held accountable across the country for corruption and profiteering.

But one person is still missing: Aleksandar Vučić, SNS founder, former prime minister and former president. His ties came together - including those with organized crime, it is suspected. This should now be investigated, the students appeal in a statement to the public prosecutor's office: "In this transition phase, it is essential not to give in to the pressure of a single political party or individual and not to be afraid to do your work."

Another case that has been bothering the country for days shows how deeply corruption is linked to the state. On the night of October 31st, the National Bank of Serbia closed Alta Bank and sent it into bankruptcy. The credit institution is no longer liquid. The reason for this was mass withdrawals and transfers abroad since October 25th. The Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation.

At the beginning of the week, Alta boss Davor Macura was finally arrested. Within just a few years, the former operator of a currency exchange office had become one of the wealthiest men in Serbia - his proximity to the SNS helped. In recent years, the Alta Bank had become a kind of savings bank for the Progressive Party. Municipalities had invested money here, orders were billed through the financial institution, which also collected part of the electricity bills from the state energy provider EPS, the largest company in the country.

The bank has grown in recent years. The thousands of Russian migrants who have come to Serbia since the Ukraine war were also able to easily open an account here. At the same time, suspicions arose that illegal business was being conducted with Russia via Alta. Macura always denied this; He himself used the bank as a self-service shop. He is said to have diverted the equivalent of around 380 million euros to himself over the past six years, including a lot of cash from the safe. What happened to the funds and what all this has to do with the voted-out SNS network must now be clarified. There is a lot of work in “free Serbia”.

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