Serbia’s National Security Council meets after arrests in connection with Novi Sad incident

Serbia’s National Security Council meets after arrests in connection with Novi Sad incident

Serbia’s National Security Council will meet on Saturday at noon following the arrest of 11 people – including a former minister – a day earlier as suspects in the Novi Sad railway station shelter collapse in November last year, leaving 16 people dead.

The meeting was scheduled following statements by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on August 1st that Serbia has not been in such a difficult position for years.

“We have gone through many crises, floods, migrant crises, coronavirus, the war in Ukraine, many things have become more serious, many provocations have been committed against us in Kosovo, the attacks in Srebrenica, everything else. However, Serbia has not been in such a difficult position since 2008.”

The Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime initially announced on August 1 the arrest of six suspects for involvement in corruption-related crimes related to the Novi Sad station modernization project. Among those arrested was former Serbian minister Tomislav Momirović.

On the afternoon of August 1, it was announced that five more people had been arrested.

The prosecution has announced that among those arrested are Nenad Ignjatović, the responsible person and owner of the company “Deko tim”, Slobodanka Katanić, investment manager at the company “Railway Infrastructure of Serbia”, as well as other individuals responsible for business matters in the project.

The Novi Sad railway station reconstruction project has lasted three years.

According to the prosecution, the arrested are suspected of having damaged the state budget to the tune of 115 million dollars through their corrupt actions.

There are also suspicions that the consortium of Chinese companies CRIC&CCCC, which is building a high-speed railway, has benefited to the tune of around $18.7 million.

Representatives of the Serbian authorities have signed the contract with the Chinese consortium, based on an intergovernmental agreement between Serbia and China, without announcing a call for tenders.

The accident at the Novi Sad railway station, which left 16 people dead, has sparked massive protests against the government in Serbia.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in the last eight months, calling for political and criminal accountability for the accident.

The focus of the protests are allegations that corruption resulted in the collapse of the railway station shelter. /REL/