prosecutor for organized crime‡_companies...privatization of the "port of belgrade" and...
TRANSCRIPT
MUNICIPAL PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE IN BELGRADE
Special department for organized crime
PROSECUTOR FOR ORGANIZED CRIME
BELGRADE
Ustanicka 15
STATEMENT REGARDING INFORMATION ON ORGANIZED CRIME
STATEMENT GIVEN BY STANKO SUBOTIC
FOR CRIMES COMMITTED:
ABUSE OF OFFICIAL POSITION, EXTORSION, BLACKMAIL AND RACKETEERING
BY THE MINISTER OF POLICE OF THE SERBIAN GOVERNMENT DUSAN
MIHAJLOVIC
My lawyers sent you on May 25 of this year my statement regarding the information I possess
on acts committed by an organized criminal group, which is headed by Milan Beko and
Miroslav Miskovic. In my statement, I described and supported my allegations by evidence
the schemes used by this duo and the politicians in power in Serbia between 2004 and 2008
for the purposes of illegal and criminal activities during the whole privatization process in
Serbia. I handed you the evidence on falsifying the tender offers, payment of bribes to the
Ministers and public officials, especially to the members of the Cabinet and Government of
Vojislav Kostunica.
In addition to the general mechanisms I already described, I also gave you concrete evidence
showing the commission of different wrongdoings during the privatization of the daily
newspaper "Vecernje novosti". As a special annex, I prepared and filed information on
various criminal activities undertaken by Manojlo Vukotic. At the end of that statement, I
announced that I would send you information in my possession on other criminal
privatizations to which the same group participated over the years, especially regarding the
privatization of the "Port of Belgrade" and "Industry of Construction Material Trudbenik",
which are interconnected.
Given that, immediately following my statement in the course of June, the Chairman of the
Anti-Corruption Council Verica Barac filed, also with you, a criminal complaint against 17
persons for illegal privatization of the "Port of Belgrade", I considered that filing my
statement regarding the same topic is unnecessary and that it would only delay the
investigation which, I hope, you are conducting pursuant to the aforementioned criminal
complaint, for which reason I contacted the Council in writing and offered the information
and evidence in my possession which I have initially intended to remit to you.
If, nevertheless, in the course of the investigation you or your colleagues wish to take
knowledge of the information and evidence regarding this privatization which is in my
possession, as I have already mentioned it several times in my correspondence, I am ready to
present them to your colleagues or you personally in a direct discussion.
The statement which I hereby file with you relates to the criminal wrongdoings committed by
one of the members of the aforementioned organized group, Dusan Mihajlovic, the former
Minister of police of the Serbian Government.
I filed a criminal complaint on March 19 against Mihajlovic and 22 other persons before the
competent prosecutor's office in Geneva, Switzerland, the place of my residence, in respect of
commission of several criminal acts, including extortion, blackmail and racketeering, which
Dusan Mihajlovic has committed by abusing his position of Minister of police of the Serbian
Government.
The prosecutor's office accepted the criminal complaint, which entered into force, and the
prosecutor's office is already conducting an investigation based thereon. However, I
considered it useful to provide you as well with the information in my possession in the form
of the present statement, not only because the crimes I referred to fall under rules of
mandatory prosecution as a matter of statute but also to help you to achieve your publicly
stated objective according to which the prosecutor's office will act professionally, without
political influence and that there would be no untouchables, especially not the politicians.
Another reason for filing this statement is that it relates to the members of the same organized
criminal group of people and that the criminal actions committed by Dusan Mihajlovic,
during the time he was a Minister, produce effect to this day and greatly influence the work of
the judicial institutions, especially of the Special prosecutor's office for organized crime,
which you are in charge of.
It is based on these circumstances that, acting pursuant to your indictment KT.C 11/7, a
criminal trial is currently conducted before the Special Court, which trial is the consequence
of the police action called "The Web", which was masterminded and secretly conducted by
Dusan Mihajlovic for the purpose of racketeering wealthy individuals, including me.
TRUTH ABOUT THE POLICE INVESTIGATION "THE WEB"
In order to better understand the purpose of the police investigation "The Web" as well as the
real motivation of the participants to the criminal wrongdoing, it is necessary to go back in
time until the mid-nineties and the commencement of the end of a dictatorial regime,
personified in the terror of the family and institutions of Slobodan Milosevic.
Serbia, Belgrade, Ub, July 1997
After more than ten years spent in France, where I worked and lived, I came back to Serbia
with important saved capital and I invested this money in production of textiles, which was
my profession. It was the end of the eighties and beginning of the nineties, at the time of the
government of Ante Markovic, when everyone was under the impression that Yugoslavia was
promised a better future. The business started very well and I invested all profits to expand the
production and distribution network. However, very quickly, the initial successes and
optimism were replaced by fear and hopelessness after the military operations started in the
country. The business started to take different forms and to obey to new rules, doing business
and payments via banking operations was no longer possible and the business risk exceeded
all known boundaries. Not being able to collect the price of the merchandise that was sold and
exported to Macedonia, I accepted a tow truck of cigarettes "Tutunski kombinat Skopje", in
lieu of payment of the debt. Without any experience with the commerce of cigarettes, we put
the cigarettes on sale in one of our shops and, by chance, we discovered that it was a very
lucrative business. Not only have we sold the whole tow truck of cigarettes in a single
morning but also the profit we made exceeded by far the value of the debt. Our business
instinct made us look for more merchandise, which led me to enter the cigarettes business.
Using my long-term experience from Western Europe and my numerous contacts, I contacted
cigarette manufacturers and, quickly thereafter, I signed the first representation and dealership
contracts for most of South-east Europe. By the mid-nineties, I was one of the largest official
representatives and distributors of almost all of the cigarettes manufacturers in the Balkans.
At that time, Serbia was suffering from wars and sanctions, which caused poverty and misery.
Most of the people were poor. The crime linked to state structures had absolute power. Doing
business also meant that I had to meet a number of people holding power at the time, without
whom one could not obtain a single authorization required for doing business legally. This is
how I met the chief of the secret police Jovica Stanisic, the chief of the Public Security
Radovan Stojicic, chief of the parliamentary group of the then-ruling party SPS and many
other officials.
I responded to their various requests to give money to finance various actions and projects,
when they asked for my contribution, believing that I was helping my nation and my country.
I believed that our mutual relationship was sincere and friendly.
At that time, the son of the President of Serbia, Marko Milosevic, also entered into the
cigarette business, which quickly transformed this field of activity. Since the President's son
had a tendency to behave inappropriately and was constantly surrounded by criminals, at their
suggestion and with the help of his mother Mirjana Markovic, the most powerful person in the
country at that time, Marko became the largest cigarettes dealer in Serbia, with the intent to
become the only one.
Kidnappings, physical assaults and murders became everyday activities in Serbia. While the
police considered these crimes as unsolved cases, everyone else considered them as clear
messages from Marko and his clan as well as from the police which was tightly controlled by
the obedient servants of Marko's mother and father.
My company and I did not have any issues at first since we were the official distributors of
cigarettes and we did not deal with the "street sale" which did not make us compete with
Marko's appetite. However, since Marko rapidly found the source of forged cigarettes of the
brands which I legally represented, our presence started to bother him. It first started with
"well-intended" messages from people in the industry and, later, also from the government,
according to which messages we should not enter into conflict with Marko and Mira, that it
would be better to leave him everything, etc.
After the murder of Marko's business partner and the man who was doing this business for
Marko, Vlada Kovacevic Tref, as well as after the assassination of the chief of police
Radovan Stojcic Badza, I was receiving threats and warnings on a daily basis. These threats
were accompanied by warnings that I was also stepping on the toes of the rulers of Serbia
because of my close relationship with Milo Djukanovic, who was the biggest enemy of the
Milosevic-Markovic couple.
Since I did not listen to any of these "pieces of advice" the reaction of the State came swiftly.
During my family vacation in Greece in July 1997, police officers lead by Miodrag Vukovic,
the right hand of the then-chief of criminal police Dragan Ilic, broke into my residential and
business premises in Serbia, without any court or prosecutor's warrant.
This is the same Vukovic who in 2003, after changing sides and becoming a democrat and
under the protection of Dusan Mihajlovic, started the secret police investigation "The Web",
fulfilling the orders he received already in 1997 from Mira Markovic.
During the police raid of all of my premises, in addition to taking photos of everything,
including photos of children's clothes, documentation, paper headings, seals, tens of
thousands of German marks and other objects have been seized. Without the order issued by a
court, prosecutor or an investigative magistrate, Mira Markovic's private guard, with the help
of the chief of criminal police Dragan Ilic and his servant Miodrag Vukovic, has sent me a
clear warning.
Even though I tried through contacts with my friends, I was unable to identify the reason for
this behaviour of the police or the identity of the person who issued the order for the police
raid. Instead, I only received the information that Mira and Marko were behind this and that it
was better for me not to return to the country.
Only 6 months after this savage break-in did MUP file 2 criminal complaints against myself,
in my capacity of the owner of the company, and my director at the time, the first for breach
of the law on commerce in foreign currencies and the second one for abuse of power in my
own company (!!) which is the same criminal act that, 10 years later, this same Vukovic
charged me with in the indictment of the Special prosecutor which you are heading.
Even though I was cleared of all charges arising out of both criminal complaints filed by the
MUP by ruling of the Supreme Court in 1999, the MUP never returned the seized documents
and seals of the company "Mia" Ub, numerous other objects and the money stolen, which
even led the IV Municipal Court in Belgrade to issue a ruling ordering forced execution in
2000.
* ANNEX A *
Acting upon the orders received from Mira Markovic in person, without any court order, the
MUP later issued a warrant against me for suspected tax evasion, according to which I was
qualified as a dangerous and armed person and advised that the police take extra precaution
during my arrest, even though I have never owned a firearm in my life.
Back then, this was considered to be a clear message to the police and criminals that a person
was on the death list. I learned about this on time and I did not return to the country but I
moved to Switzerland with my family, the country where I still live.
During the period of this "exile" I was receiving messages to stop doing business with
Montenegro, to stop selling cigarettes to certain customers, that Marko's hired assassins will
find me, etc. I did not want to accept these threats and blackmailing and I continued my
business legally from Geneva.
I was also trying through lawyers and courts to establish my innocence, which I managed to
do by court decisions in 1999 and 2000.
However, Mirjana Markovic could not accept this fact and managed, through her people,
which in the meantime she had appointed to high positions in the police, secret police, courts
and media, to start spreading the rumours about my exile according to which it was
supposedly the consequence of my involvement in the assassination of Radovan Stojcic.
Before this story appeared in public, one of my friends who was holding a high position in the
system told me that JUL released this story and that the president of the Radical party
Vojislav Seselj would announce it publicly, following the order received from the then-vice
chief of the KOS or the DB which were "keeping" Seselj precisely for this kind of purpose.
This rapidly occurred and since then, whenever someone wishes to discredit myself over the
media, he refers to these lies invented by JUL.
After trying to find out the real reasons and instigators of this lynch mob against myself, I
concluded that in addition to Marko's inappropriate behavior there was one more, not less
important, reason which is my wealth, or to be more precise the money which I made by
doing that business.
One group of people belonging to the regime, tried to compensate for the lack of money in the
State's budget by convincing Slobodan Milosevic and his spouse that individuals like me, who
made fortune during the nineties, should donate a part of their wealth to the State.
It was also a matter of personal vengeance and envy, as well as a matter of the demagogy and
hypocrisy but this topic became the main one in the conversations about the finances. Another
group of officials of the regime considered that this was senseless, that this was just the way
to mask crack-brained projects of JUL and their greed; however they also considered that a
portion of our money should go to the "State" or at least to what they were defining as a
State.
This is how, in addition to Marko and his appetite, I have found myself between two "hungry"
groups of high-ranking officials of a dying regime, which were only interested in my money
and which they soon started to consider as their own money.
Unfortunately, despite of the change of regime, this stayed the main reason for the hunt
against my family and myself.
Serbia, October 5, 2000
I welcomed the change of that regime with unhidden excitement, ready to help, in all possible
ways, the representatives of the new government, some of whom I already knew.
I returned to Belgrade in January 2001 after several years of exile, right before the formation
of the new government. On that occasion, I found out that the police investigation ordered by
the officials of JUL was still ongoing, because the immigration officer let me enter the
country after great difficulties, despite the presence of the representatives of the new
government who were waiting for me at the airport.
On that occasion, I also met Zoran Djindjic, who was to become the Prime minister a couple
of days later, and I told him about my longstanding problems with the representatives of JUL
and radicals in the police. We agreed that he would ask for an official report from the police
as soon as the new Minister of police Dusan Mihajlovic was appointed.
This was the precise reason I started to have direct contact with Dusan Mihajlovic. After the
assassination of Zoran Djindjic, these contacts became the personal ones and it all ended with
Mihajlovic racketeering and blackmailing me, which subsequently resulted in the false
indictment signed by your predecessor who was heading the Special prosecutor's office under
political pressure made by the people working for Vojislav Kostunica.
Several weeks after formation of the new government, I received a message from Zoran
Djindjic that he had verified with Dusan Mihajlovic and that the latter answered that
"everything was fine" with me, that no investigation or procedure were ongoing, and that the
only investigation conducted was that one from 1997, which the court rejected in 1997.
A couple of weeks later I came back to Belgrade with a large delegation of foreign investors
from Europe for scheduled meetings with the representatives of the new Serbian government
and I was subject to the same treatment, in front of my business partners.
This mistreatment was always conducted in the same way: upon presentation of my passport
to the immigration officer I was always asked to step aside while the officer would call
someone over the telephone or on his radio, then he would wait for the answer, ask me where
I was going, the reason and length for my stay, whom I was to meet, and after 10 or 20
minutes of this procedure I would be allowed to enter the country.
The same procedure was repeated every time I would enter the country while the level of
mistreatment and chicanery varied depending upon the individual who was working that day
at the counter. I was treated as a "suspect individual", a person who is dangerous and
problematic. Some officers have even threatened me and were saying that I was not and never
will be a free man. Some others were loudly commenting, in front of other passengers, that a
person against who a warrant was outstanding was there but they would always let me in after
leaving me to wait on the side, with no explanation on the reason I was made to wait.
It was impossible for me to do business in this way, since every time I had to explain to my
business partners why I was stopped and checked, I asked Zoran Djindjic that the police call
me and take a statement from me if they were interested in something or that they give the
evidence they had collected against me to the courts, all this only to eliminate the problems I
was having at the border or, at least, that they indicate what this all was about.
In my presence, the Prime minister called Dusan Mihajlovic and told him all this, even asking
him to deliver him everything they had on me since he was also interested in knowing
whether there was anything problematic with my biography because he wanted to do business
with me and, for that reason, he wanted to know all relevant facts about me. Mihajlovic told
him that he would ask the police to proceed with a detailed verification on everything but that
he knew that there was nothing irregular about me and that he did not know the reason why
someone would keep me at the border.
In order to make sure that this issue would be addressed, the Prime Minister Djindjic called
his closest assistant and close friend Vladimir Popovic and asked him to monitor this matter
and to make sure that it is dealt with efficiently. The fact that I knew Popovic from before
only made my situation easier for the moment.
Soon, Mihajovic sent the answer, stating that there was not a single reason for me to be kept
at the border, that it was a consequence of the old police investigation, but that the latter was
stopped and withdrawn, that this was perhaps not recorded yet and that his was causing all the
issues. Mihajlovic further alleged that the people from JUL are still in the police and that they
have been doing this on their own initiative, etc., but that I am clean and free citizen and that
this would not happen again.
Sometimes around that time, in Croatia, a group of criminals with the support of the former
Milosevic's officials, installed in the Cabinet of the President of FRY Vojislav Kostunica
started to conspire for the demise of the legally elected governments in Serbia and
Montenegro. For execution of this plan, they retained a member of this criminal organization
Ivo Pukanov, a self-proclaimed journalist but in reality a media blackmailer and executor of
the orders of the Croatian mafia in the medias he was heading.
This was the start of the "Tobacco affair" in the Croatian newspaper "Nacional" which was
taken on by their accomplices in Serbia and Montenegro, especially by the media and political
parties.
My name and my photo became synonymous with all the evils of Milosevic's regime and
years during which the crime was blossoming. Even though the whole article from "Nacional"
was based on lies and constructions, half-truths and insinuations, certain medias and political
parties accepted it as "Saint texts", the content of which was not questioned.
The media campaign and harangue to which I was exposed only worsened my treatment at the
immigration desk of the Belgrade airport, which caused that I stopped coming to Belgrade
again. My attorneys officially requested from the official institutions the answers to the
questions about my status and mistreatment I was subjected to each time I was entering the
country.
* ANNEX B *
In our correspondence with the official institutions I asked to be heard or processed, to be told
at last what this all was about since the treatment I received was just unacceptable. All the
answers were identical – there was nothing problematic and they did not know what this was
about.
Vladimir Popovic told me this several times, confirming that, in accordance with instructions
from Zoran Djindjic, he had verified with Mihajlovic and also with other officials at the
police and that they all assured him that there was only one "retired" investigation from 1997,
which was impossible to delete, but that the police officers are not allowed to stop and
question people based upon this investigation and that I was probably facing isolated cases.
Since the situation was not getting any better, I completely stopped going to Belgrade and I
was holding the meeting either in Montenegro or in Switzerland where I live.
Shortly after the assassination of Zoran Djindjic et the end of the "Sabre" investigation, I
started to hear rumours that JUL's executioner Miodrag Vukovic, who in the meantime
became some form of chief of the MUP, held a meeting in Sabac with the regional chiefs of
police and that he told them at that meeting that an investigation on the cigarette smuggling in
the '90s was opened. I also learned that he made them understand that the investigation must
indicate that I (Stanko Subotic) was the main guilty person.
Having dealt with Vukovic before and knowing his personality, I told this to Vladimir
Popovic and asked him to check who was in charge of the investigation and to organize that I
come to make a deposition and give all the documents I had since I was afraid that Vukovic
will just continue the fake and constructed investigation which will be used by the politicians
to attempt to prove the lies from "Nacional" and continue thereby the campaign against the
new government, and especially against Zoran Djindjic.
In parallel with this, my attorneys wrote to the police, Minister, Vice-Minister, competent
chiefs of police, requesting my deposition, that they proceed with the control or to whatever it
was necessary, but only within the limits of the law and using legal methods and not by force
or by forging as Miodrag Vukovic was used to do. We either did not get any answers from the
police or we received non-convincing denials and Vladimir Popovic told me that no
investigation is ongoing, that he had checked everything and that there was nothing, that it
was a question of either my paranoia or the attempt of certain people to blackmail me or to
make me afraid.
I continued to receive calls from my acquaintances, former partners and friends, telling me
that Miodrag Vukovic was calling and visiting them, that he was placing pressure on them,
that he had told them that it would be good for them to accuse me wrongly, but all this on a
semi-friendly, semi-official bases.
During that time, the media had engaged in a new campaign against me, my friends and
partners, which campaign was in reality just the continuation of the old campaign. Attorneys
and family of the people arrested during the "Sabre" action, the assassin of the prime minister
were giving their theories about the assassination, accusing me, mentioning the cigarette
smuggling and other nonsense. All this was processed by the Croatian newspaper "Nacional"
and then it was spinned back to Serbia and Montenegro, creating pressure on public opinion,
police officers, prosecutors, judges…This is when the media belonging to the mafia launched
the idea about the seizure of my assets which were "acquired illegally" even though there was
no law on this and even less the reason. It is precisely this same group of people which
launched this idea in the media, upon coming into power, who realized this with the help of
the Prosecutor's office, by giving a direct order to Slobodan Radovanovic to issue an
indictment against me which was based on lies and private investigation of Milosevic's
people.
In the meantime, I received the information that Serbia had also sent letters rogatory to
Switzerland, Liechtenstein, France, Cyprus, that they mention an investigation which is
conducted or money laundering and money originated in the smuggling and that my name
was all over the place! They even used the coincidence that my nephew, who is also one of
the directors of my company, is called Nikola Milosevic, to use his last name to make an
allusion to Slobodan Milosevic and claim that the money deposited on my accounts and the
profits are in fact the money of the family Milosevic-Markovic. This is exactly what Mladjan
Dinkic claimed publicly, affirming that he had discovered the account of the nephew of
Slobodan Milosevic. Through my attorneys I was still requesting to be heard and I offered
cooperation but we remained without answer whereas the only answer we have been given is
that – no investigation was ongoing! This was also confirmed by Vladimir Popovic, who even
told me that he had talked about this directly with the minister Dusan Mihajlovic as well as
with his deputy Nedan Milic, that both of them confirmed that there is no investigation and
that all this was untrue. Popovic even told me that the minister Mihajlovic was even
complimenting me, that he was referring to me in superlatives and that he expressed great
desire to meet with me. Mihajlovic's request to meet with me was repeated to me by Popovic
and some other of my acquaintances a couple of times during the Summer and Autumn of
2003.
In the same time, I received new messages about the investigation and I received the names of
two inspectors who had signed the letter rogatories sent abroad. It was Glusica Branko and
Bogdan Pusic.
I gave this information to Vladimir Popovic and my lawyers and after a couple of days
Popovic called me to tell me that I was right, that he learned that there was an investigation
conducted by these two inspectors following the orders of Miodrag Vukovic, that it was a
secret investigation ordered by minister Dusan Mihajlovic without the knowledge of the
deputy minister Nenad Milic or chief of public security general Sreten Lukic and that this was
the main reason why no one knew about this investigation.
On that occasion, Popovic told me that he had talked with Mihajlovic, that the latter had tried
to avoid responding but when Popovic told him that he knew about the investigation
Mihajlovic said that it was not an investigation but that Vukovic was writing a book about the
cigarettes smuggling and that he asked the minister for permission which he received and that
he was sending his regards and is asking when he can meet with me again!?
Shortly thereafter, at the beginning of November, Popovic called me to tell me that Dusan
Mihajlovic was asking that I come to Belgrade to meet with me as soon as possible, that he
doesn't know the reason for this because Mihajlovic only stated this over the telephone but
that this was a good opportunity to find out why he initiated the secret investigation against
myself and why he was insisting for so long to meet with me.
Serbia, Belgrade, Headquarters of the Liberals of Serbia, Proleterskih brigada 76
The meeting took place in the premises of New Democracy (Liberals of Serbia) az 76
Proleterskoh brigada street , where I went with Vladimir Popovic. A few persons from my
security as well as several police officers, members of the official security of Vladimir
Popovic he had at that time, also came along.
We came to the meeting at 21:30 because Mihajlovic was busy with party activities
somewhere in Serbia and he could not make it earlier. We were welcomed by Ivan Djordjevic
who was, as I discovered, Mihajlovic's personal secretary in the party and also chief of
Mihajlovic's cabinet at the Ministry of police.
While we were waiting for Mihajlovic, Djordjevic talked to him several times over the
telephone, told him that we arrived and transmitted us his apologies for being late while a
number of other officials of the party were coming to the office and mainly greeted Popovic.
Mihajlovic arrived around 22:15 and after cordial greetings with Vladimir Popovic, he also
greeted me, shaking my hand firmly, smiling and telling me:
"Welcome compatriot!"
With his hand around my shoulder he took me to his office very cordially, offered me a drink
and immediately went on to business, explaining that I have no reason to worry, that "a good
horse raises dust", that I am a wealthy and honest man, that I am capable and intelligent, that
the two of us know each other for very long but that we never managed to meet in person and
so forth in the same style.
I asked him about the problems on the border whenever I was entering the country as well as
about the investigation which was conducted against me, about the fact that no one has ever
called me to take my statement and I told him that this situation was causing me a lot of
damage and that it was putting my family and myself in danger and that it was threatening our
security, the reason why I asked him to be called officially and that the police do all they
wanted to do, take my statement, investigate, just that they put an end to the situation which
was ongoing since 1997.
Mihajlovic smiled mysteriously and told me that himself and the police know that I was clean
but that Kostunica and people around him want to drag me into dirt and blackmail me to
attack Milo Djukanovic and the late Zoran Djindjic but also because they wanted to take away
a part of my assets which they have "laid their eyes on". He told me that he will not allow it,
that he will take care of me and protect me, that as long as he is the Minister of police I will
not get hurt and that for the moment the most important thing was that he gets the best
possible score at the elections, which were to be held in December, and that he reached the
agreement with a number of foreign ambassadors that he will continue as the Minister of
police.
He told me that I should not worry about Vukovic and the investigation, he laughed loudly
and commented that Vuk (Miodrag Vukovic) is writing a book and that he had told him
"Screw writing, we're cops, not writers" but that he really insisted. Mihajlovic also told me
that I should not be worried but that I should help his political party for the elections, because
his "Black sheep" campaign actually helps Ceda for the next elections because there was an
attempt to make a coup within DS and to put in charge a man controlled by the Army and
KOS, Boris Tadic, that it was important that he gets into government with the Liberals and
that he was counting on my small help in the amount of 50 thousand euros. I accepted his
request and shortly after the meeting I paid this money to the agency that was handling the
campaign for his party, exactly as Mihajlovic has asked for.
This is what happened during our first meeting, which lasted about 2 hours, and he stopped
me at the end, waiting for Vladimir Popovic to go out first, to whisper that we should meet
again to tell me why I was treated as a "suspect person" and that I was smart enough to
understand what I was expected to do. Right after the elections, at which he didn't enter into
Parliament, he asked through Vladimir Popovic to meet with me urgently in Belgrade, saying
that it was extremely urgent and important for me.
Serbia, Belgrade, Business club "Lutra", Majke Jevrosime 23
I came to Belgrade and went to the meeting together with Popovic to "Lutra" or "Lutra's" club
at 23 Majke Jevrosime street . That day was the first time that I was neither stopped nor
questioned at the border. We came to the meeting at 11 in the morning and waited for
Mihajlovic until 13:30 because, according to his secretary, he was at the meeting of the
Government and some other meetings that he couldn't reschedule.
During the meeting, Mihajlovic was again very cordial, he thanked me for the financial help
which I gave to him but he appeared worried all the time, especially because of the bad results
at the elections and a fear that Kostunica and his "obscure people", as he was calling his
assistants, were coming. After a couple of minutes spent with the worried face, he gave me a
large envelope, and asked me to open it. I opened the envelop and, among approximately fifty
documents, I opened the first document which was some form of organigram outlining the
cigarette smuggling in the nineties, where at the top of the pyramid, next to Mirjana
Markovic, Marko Milosevic, Mihalj Kertes, Jovica Stanisic and many others there was also
my photo as well as photos of my assistants from the company "Mia-Ub". On the top of the
document, it was written MUP of Serbia, police investigation "The Web" and I was
represented as one of the main organizers of the cigarettes smuggling.
After going through the papers and other organigrams Mihajlovic gave me, I understood that
all the rumours which I was hearing for months were true, that Vukovic was indeed
conducting an investigation with the purpose to designate me as the guilty one and to abolish
the real smugglers.
Since the documents were bearing the mark that the investigation was conducted upon the
order of the Minister of police, I asked him for an explanation to which he replied:
"That's because of Vukovic, he lied to me that he was writing a book while he was conducting
an unauthorized investigation, don't worry, I'll take care of this, this whole thing was done so
that they can blackmail you, Vukovic probably did this in collusion with Kostunica's guys…
Hahaha, he didn't want to write a book but he conducted an investigation…Don't worry
compatriot, Misko (Miroslav Miskovic), Pera (Pater Matic), Mira, Marko, Slova are also
there…Screw the writing…It's obvious to me that the whole thing was invented, don't worry
Vukovic is a fool, I'll destroy everything, he wanted to put you in the White book as well but I
didn't let him do that, haha…but listen, give me your number, I travel abroad very often and
we can meet to talk about serious things and not about this stupid stuff and it's also safer
abroad than here, now that these Kostunica's criminals are coming…"
I emphasize that he stated all this in front of Vladimir Popovic. I gave my telephone number
to Mihajlovic and left "Lutra's" building. It was clear that Mihajlovic was behind everything
and that he was manipulating the whole investigation but the only thing I was still ignoring
was the reason, or should I say the price!
After we left Lutra, Vladimir Popovic suggested that we go to his office which was close to
"Lutra" and to call the Minister of justice Vladan Batic to tell him about the behavior of the
Minister of police. Minister Vladan Batic came after a while and that's where we met and saw
each other for the first time. Vladimir Popovic showed him the documents which the Minister
Mihajlovic gave to me and he explained that the both of us were convinced that Mihajlovic
was doing this to blackmail me and that he is trying to get some personal benefit out of it.
Minister Batic was shocked when he saw the documents he had never heard of, and stated that
the Government as well as the Security Council or the justice system he was heading never
discussed this.
Since the Minister of justice Vladan Batic was also a politician and president of a political
party, he quickly noticed that the investigation was conducted to show that the accusations of
Vojislav Kostunica, which were in line with the writings of Ivo Pukanic and "Nacional"
newspaper in Croatia, were truthful, that this was the basis of the electoral campaign of the
opposition parties and that the only purpose of this investigation was to discredit the actions
and the party of Zoran Djindjic.
Understanding that the consequences for myself could potentially be disastrous, that the
Minister of police is abusing his position and that I couldn't get the help from anyone in
Serbia, I contacted my lawyers in Switzerland and France, I gave them the documents I
received from Mihajlovic but I also gave copies of these documents to the intelligence
agencies of the countries where I knew the officials.
Switzerland, Zurich, Grand Hotel Dolder
Shortly after this meeting, at the end of January 2004, Mihajlovic called me from his number
+38163255500 on my cell number +41793550572 and asked me to meet him urgently
"without Beba" (Vladimir Popovic), event insisting that he should not even know about the
meeting.
I agreed and we scheduled the meeting in Zurich at the "Grand Hotel Dolder", Kurhausstrasse
65, where we meet during lunchtime and stayed together for a full 7 hours!
At that occasion, he showed me a new diagram where I was again but only this time the
document was also showing the real cigarettes smugglers from the nineties, which worked
together with the State: Mirko Vucurovic, Pera Matic, Dusan Zabunovic, Miroslav Miskovic,
Bojana Bajrusevic, Vanja Bokan, Marko Milosevic…
To my question to explain me why I was among these people when I was not selling
cigarettes in Serbia but representative and distributor of large quantities of cigarettes for
official manufacturers, MIhajlovic told me that Vukovic had done that following the orders of
DB, Kostunica and enemies (he did not explain who these enemies were) for the purpose to
take my money. Mihajlovic stated that he was fighting against it and that I should not worry
about it since he was in control. He asked me not to talk about our meetings and especially
not to Beba (V.P.), since he was not a politician, cannot keep the secrets and is chasing some
justice which can only be harmful to the both of us and he concluded by saying that I should
stick with him (Mihajlovic) and that I should not be worried.
Even though the discussion lasted 7 hours I understood very little of what Mihajlovic was
saying, since he was talking in coded language, not distinctively, he was jumping from one
sentence to another, gesticulating and smiling mysteriously. The only thing I was able to
understand is that he needed the money urgently, that he needed a lot of money to continue
the political struggle so that "he and his guys" oppose the enemies. I was always coming back
to the "papers" he had given to me, explaining to him that the investigation was identical to
the one Vukovic attempted to conduct in 1997 which, even with the full support of the regime
at that time, he lost in court and that he keeps doing the same now that he is his own
employee!
He affirmed that he knows about the role of Vukovic in the previous regime, that I saved my
head when in 1997 I ran away from the country, that Vukovic was acting on the orders of the
than chief of criminal police Dragan Ilic, who acted upon the direct order of Vlajko
Stojiljkovic, for the purpose of abolishing the actions of the real cigarettes smugglers and the
he wanted to find a scapegoat, that I was chosen as the scapegoat, and that by doing so they
wanted to compromise Badza and his assassination, that the role of Vukovic in the whole
thing was very dirty but that I should not worry since he will deal with everything and that I
should only see "how to help them as soon as possible".
Upon reading the documents, I saw that the emphasis has been put on a seizure of cigarettes
in Novi Sad, for which I was alleged to be the organizer, and I asked him to be questioned as
soon as possible, since I had all the information about it, that it was an action of the border
and police authorities organized by the State, that I was only used to get the merchandise
(cigarettes), that I didn't have anything to do with it and that I wanted to share this information
as soon as possible.
He claimed that there was no reason to be worried about this and that I did not need to make
any deposition, that he would make sure that everything is thrown away and forgotten and
that I should only look into how to help "their struggle".
I stubbornly insisted to be a witness in that investigation, I told him I knew everything about
the cigarette smuggling business which took place in the nineties, that I know who did it and
how, that I even have documents about everything showing that the smuggling was organized
by the State and the state security acting through Mirko Vucurevic, that this money was used
to finance the war in Bosnia, war crimes and, later, hiding of the war criminals and that public
security took on a portion of this business later on, that the cigarettes business in Novi Sad
was done by Vanja Bokan for the State, that the involvement of the financial police was
actually a result of a dispute between the secret services and the police over the black market
for cigarettes, that these actions only served to distort the truth and to mislead, that it will be
too late afterwards and that all the criminals will escape.
Mihajlovic was approving everything, he even knew more details about some situations, and
he blamed Vukovic and his old connections with JUL for everything. He told me that
Vukovic tried to give everything to the prosecutor but that the prosecutor refused everything
because the statute of limitation had expired, that he brought everything to Switzerland only
to show me what could have happened without his intervention! He was interested to know
how much damage all this was causing me, how much it was costing me, making comments
that I made a lot of money and that it would be normal to repay it a bit. Then, he mentioned
Peconi (Predrag Rankovic) and said: "Look, he nicely gave his share and now he is a
respectable businessman! He met with Karic, they also called me, I came, they agreed
everything and now everyone is happy!...Now, compatriot, tell me about al you have and
where you have it so that we can close the business…Tell me how much money and what
businesses…What is big money for you…"
At that time it was obvious that his intent was to blackmail me but, since he was still the
Minister of police, I had to be cautious and to see exactly what he wants. I asked him to tell
me exactly how much he wants and to tell me what he offers in return.
He started to mumble that a political party is an expensive thing, that the cost of living was
high, that there was a lot of them (he did not want to say who were "they"), that all this was
costing me a lot, that he will restore my image and that I will be able to normally do business
in the future, that I should tell him how much money I have and that he will then decide how
much I should give!
To gain some time, I told him that I could not give money in cash but only for projects and
through banks and companies. He told me that "they" were very nervous and impatient, that
all must be dealt with quickly and that he would contact me quickly.
Right after my return to Geneva, I contacted my lawyers in Geneva and Paris to inform them
of what was going on and they suggested that I keep communicating so that we can gather
evidence about the blackmail by the Minister of Police of Serbia and they also suggested that
I contact the prosecutor in Geneva, which I did and a part of the criminal procedure which is
currently conducted by the competent prosecutor in Switzerland relates precisely to Dusan
Mihajlovic and this for extortion, blackmail and racketeering.
France, Paris, Law firm of Veronique Lartigue
When Mihajlovic contacted me again and asked for a meeting, upon the suggestion of our
lawyers, I scheduled the meeting to take place in Paris, at the offices of my lawyers, in order
to gather evidence of his criminal actions.
We met at the beginning of February 2004 in Paris in the law firm Veronique Lartigue at the
address: 4 Rue Dumont d'Urville. He came to the meeting with a pilot bag out of which he
took out some wines for me as a present and he put the empty bag on the desk in front of me,
smiling and showing me with the head that I should fill it in.
He told me right away that he was expected "in the country" by people who are very nervous
and impatient. On my question to tell me what was going on with "The Web" and what
exactly he expected from me, he started to explain that the situation is very complicated, that
he will soon leave his position of Minister of Police, that Vukovic gave everything to the
inspectors Branko Glusica and Bogdan Pusic with whom he worked on this investigation, that
they are now in charge and that, unless do react promptly, everything would end with
Kostunica and the new Minister and that it would be too late for everything then.
He told me that Glusica and Pusic are his friends, that he hired Glusica in the MUP upon
request of one of his business partners from Slovenia and that he can use him to finish
everything, that he also controls Pusic and that we must act quickly, pushing the bag under
my nose and showing me its empty content. I told him again that I do not have cash, that I can
only invest in projects through the bank but that he would need to tell me what these projects
were about.
He nervously asked that I give him at least a million Euros right away because his partners in
Belgrade were very nervous, and that I must give it to them at all costs. I told him that I can
get him 100 or 200 thousand at most but that I would need time even for that amount.
Mihajlovic started to be unpleasant, to threaten me implicitly and he took out a piece of paper
out of his pocket to ask me about my accounts in Cyprus, stating that he saw the bank
statements and asked me where the money was.
I told him that he should know very well that I had a company in Cyprus which had a large
turnover based on the commercial contracts with the manufacturers of cigarettes, that the
money was not mine, that it was the turnover, that my Company was getting 6 or 7% of that
amount and that both Dinkic and he went to Cyprus supposedly to look for money belonging
to Slobodan Milosevic and that they presented that bank account to the public as the account
the stolen money from Serbia was deposited into only because my nephew had the
authorization over that account and that his last name was Milosevic by pure accident.
Shaking his head, Mihajlovic started to talk about Dinkic with anger in his voice:
"…Yes, yes that's that piece of shit of Dinkic…I also got screwed over about Cyprus. I
understood it too late that he used your nephew's last name to sabotage the investigation
about the real accounts and then he made a deal with the owners of the real accounts.
Bastard. Zoran understood it also late and he wanted to fire him for that. A crook, he all
masterminded with Wolf Minic and Kostunica…But let this aside now, what happened
happened. Tell me what we are going to do for the money? Do you want to give the money or
we'll have trouble…?"
I told him with fear in my voice that I don't have cash, that I want to help and finance "them"
but only through projects and companies.
Openly unhappy, he closed the pilot bag and mumbled that it was too bad but that he would
see what he can do about the projects and then he left the office.
I emphasize that even though we were alone in the office, my lawyers were following the
meeting over a video and prepared the minutes right after the meeting that I filed with the
competent authorities in France.
During our meeting, over the telephone and in messages, he was warning me all the time that
Vladimir Popovic should not know anything about this, that otherwise it would ruin
everything which I followed and have not said anything to anyone except to ma attorneys and
competent authorities of several European countries.
Spain, Marbella, Arrival with Slobodan Radulovic
A couple of weeks later, Mihajlovic called me from the same number to ask me to meet with
him urgently to which I told him I was in Marbella where I was to stay the whole month; he
asked for my address saying that he had to see me urgently, that he was coming with a friend
to talk about a project and that, in his word, everything was extremely urgent.
He came to Marbella two days later with Slobodan Radulovic, director of the company "C
market".
Mihajlovic asked to see me alone first and told me that I have to invest 20 million Euros in "C
market", that it was very important since Kostunica was trying to get a hold on the company
through Miskovic and Beko, that he was in good terms with the both of them but that "C
market" must stay with "them" and that "C market" will serve to finance them all. At this
moment, he started to laugh telling me that I got a "good deal", that this money was nothing
for me and that I was doing a good deed.
Radulovic confirmed that 15 to 20 million Euros were needed for them to buy out the
majority stake of shares and that they had to act quickly because Miskovic was about to take
over "C market".
To my question whether they needed the money in the form of an investment from a strategic
partner or financial loan, they both looked at each other in surprise before Mihajlovic asked to
talk to me in private.
Then, he started to use a different tone telling me:
"Are you crazy? Didn't you understand it so far that you have to give the money or you'll get
screwed? Over there the situation was getting complicated, everyone is nervous because of
you, if you keep screwing with us you can be sure you'll be done!"
Upon advice of my lawyer, I continued the "game" and told him that I was to participate and
finance the project but that I needed more time, that I especially needed to get the project and
see everything about the privatization and that I had to call the people from my company
which would be in charge of the project.
I was buying time, Radulovic was half-satisfied while Mihajlovic was openly dissatisfied. His
was expecting to give me Radulovic's bank account where I would immediately transfer 20
million Euros so that everything could be closed that day.
My lawyers advised me to drag the story some more and that I include someone into this so
that I can have an additional witness and I contacted Zoran Becirovic, a businessman from
Moscow, explaining him what I was going through because of the Minister of police.
He offered his help and we agreed for him to attend the next meeting.
France, Burgogne, Letter of Intention "C-market"
Our next meeting took place in France, in Bourgogne in my winery Louis Max, 6 Rue de
Chaux Nuit Saint-Georges where Mihajlovic came with Slobodan Radulovic.
Before the business part of our meeting, he whispered to me that the situation with "The Web"
was very difficult but that he was "still holding" the inspectors Glusic and Pusic and that if we
"close" everything would be fine.
Mihajlovic brought some document with him, a letter of intentions and the account number
where I was to pay 20 million Euros. This is when Becirovic jumped into conversation saying
that it was not possible to make the transfer that easily without proceeding with the audit and
financial analysis of the Company, that we are interested to provide the financing but that
some pre-conditions must be satisfied first, that the banks would not allow these kind of
transfers without the appropriate documentation, etc. We agreed to form a team and send
them to Belgrade to close the business with Radulovic.
Zoran Becirovic formed the team very quickly and sent them to Belgrade. Although they
worked on this for a couple of weeks, everything came down to the fact that I had to give
money without receiving anything in return, neither the strategic partnership nor any proof
that I actually landed money; instead, it was my obligation towards Mihajlovic knowing that
one day, when "they" come to the power again and "win against the enemies" I would also
"receive benefits".
Monastery Soko Grad, "Vujic-Valjevo", Povlen: May 2004
Mihajlovic was sending me messages incessantly, sometimes he was polite, sometimes angry
and threatening; then, at the beginning of May, he called me all nervous and angry, asked me
to see me urgently and I told him that I was invited by the Bishop Lavrentije on the 8th of
May 2004 to attend a celebration in the monastery Soko Grad and that we can meet there.
During the lunch reception which was organized to celebrate the diploma and medal I
received from the Bishop Lavrentije, Dusan Mihajlovic was seating next to me and Ivica
Dacic, currently the Minister of police, was seating in front of us. There was also a large
number of officials, approximately fifty of them. In addition, several hundred people were
gathered in the yard surrounding the monastery. After lunch, I went to the Bishop's office to
receive the medal and I used that occasion to complain to him about the problems Mihajlovic
was causing me.
Mihajlovic also came to the office and I was talking in front of me about the problems that he
caused me, believing that this would cause him to see reason. The Bishop promised me that
he would try to help me. Dusan told me that he had some positive news about the
investigation and suggested that we go to Valjevo in the hotel of his friend Vujic and that we
go afterwards to Povlen to show me something. On his request, I came with him with his
SUV while my security was following us in my vehicles.
In Valjevo, he introduced me to the owner of the hotel Vujic and some other people, we
chatted a bit and then continued to Povlen. This is when he gave me an envelope with a new
diagram, on which I was placed on a much lower level on the pyramid than earlier, he told me
that this was the only way to resolve things because everything was now in the hands of the
new Minister Dragan Jocic but that he kept pulling the strings, that he kept controlling
Glusica and Pusic and that he would "kick me out of the diagram completely" in the following
weeks. It was obvious that he changed the tactics and that he was trying to get the money in a
different way.
We arrived to Povlen and he started to talk about Serbia and importance of certain people out
of the blue. All mysterious, he started to talk badly about Zoran Djindjic and Vladimir
Popovic, saying they were traitors, that the hills around are full of secrets, that he knows them
all, etc.
He turned to me at one point and said:
"Compatriot, maybe one day you will know some of the secrets. But first, you have to open
your wallet! C'mon, how much you can give so that we resolve this problem! Is 50 not too
much for you?" (probably talking in millions).
I tried to explain that I confirmed that I want to finance "C market" but that I was still waiting
for the information from Belgrade and that I cannot do anything without it. He started to wave
the diagram of the investigation "The Web" threatening me that I can either get into troubles
or that he can take care of everything. He started to address me angrily again:
"Compatriot, you'll get screwed, don't be stupid! They all already paid their share, you're the
last one, don't think you can get away!"
He was showing me the diagram and indicated that Miskovic was gone from it, saying that
Misko should not be smarter than me, while he was laughing in my face. Then, he went
mysteriously silent before telling me that unless I give the money that very day he would not
be able to prevent doom for me. I repeated that I was not guilty and that I have no reason to
fear because I had done nothing illegal, to what he said:
"Fuck the law, compatriot, what law, if you don't pay you'll get fucked"
Mihajlovic drove me back to Valjevo to the "Grand" hotel to his friend Vujic, gave me the
bank account of the "Grand" hotel and told me that I can transfer the money to that account as
well, indicating "extending hotel capacities" as a reason for payment. He kept asking for
money and allusions that I could even be arrested at the border.
I had told him earlier that I had 200 thousand Euros in the car with my people, which I
brought to pay for works on the church which I was constructing in Ub and he insisted that I
bring him that money which would serve as "first aid" because the situation was "very, very
serious". Fearing that I could really get arrested at the border, I accepted and gave him
200,000 Euros in cash. He took the money, saying that it was just "crumbs" which was for the
inspector and to calm them down a bit but that, unless I give the money they were expecting
from me, nothing would save me.
I came back to Switzerland where I informed my lawyers and I decided to stop
communicating with him. I also withdrew Zoran Becirovic form the "C-market" project.
Probably satisfied with the money received and expecting to get more now, Mihajlovic was
sending mostly courteous messages and friendly message. He was trying to call me on the
telephone as well but I was responding to his calls or messages. However, he kept sending me
the messages:
I quote only some of tens of messages I received during that period:
From +381642574673 at June 02, 2004 08:07, 14 :
When can we talk?
From +38163255500 at June 28, 2004 11:08, 52 :
I'm waiting for us to talk.
From +38163255500 at July 07, 2004 11:41, 44 :
What's with my friend?
Where is he?
However, I stopped communicating with Mihajlovic.
After a meeting with my lawyers, we came to the conclusion that we had enough elements to
file a criminal complaint, but that it would be best to do it in Serbia, partly because
Mihajlovic was domiciled there but also because of the fact that he was blackmailing me
while using his position of the Minister of police of Serbia and that that crime was subject to
mandatory prosecution. We drafted the criminal complaint and I already agreed with my
lawyers in Serbia to file the criminal complaint in Serbia. The only reason why I did not file
the criminal complaint at that time was because I received telephone calls from my company
from my employees who informed me that a certain prosecutor Pavlovic, together with the
duo Branko Glusica and Bogdan Pusic, prepared an indictment against me and my company,
that it was just a matter of days before it is done, that this was coordinated with Kostunica and
that the best thing would be to try to make an arrangement with Mihajlovic and put an end to
useless troubles. I should say that I started to receive advices to "make an arrangement with
Mihajlovic" since the end of 2003 (while he was still a Minister) until early 2005 (when he
was not Minister for already a year). I have in my possession the names of people who had
been sending me these messages and who had advised me "with the best intentions" to make a
deal with Mihajlovic as well as the number of SMS messages on the same topic, and copies of
these are in the possession of my attorneys and we are ready to give them to anyone from the
prosecutor's office if an investigation on this serious crime starts.
The second reason for renouncing to file a criminal complaint in Belgrade against Mihajlovic
was that Vojislav Kostunica and his team have been in power already for several months.
Some of them, implicated in the assassination of Zoran Djindjic, have been appointed to the
highest official positions and they were heading the police, secret police, army, judicial
system, prosecutor's office…This is why it looked pointless that I, who was prosecuted by
these very same people, file a criminal complaint with them against a person who made a
"deal" with them, which everyone knew.
I decided not to file the criminal complaint in Serbia and I looked for the way how to file it in
one of the countries in which Mihajlovic committed some of the crimes.
In August 2004, I went with my family to Ub to visit my parents and family. Of course, I was
pulled aside at the airport while they were talking to someone over the telephone and then,
after waiting for half an hour, they gave me back my passport and let me enter the country.
A couple of days later, I received a message from Dusan Mihajlovic:
From +38163255500 at August 11, 2004 21:18, 19 :
Is it possible that
my friend doesn't call?
Because of the promise or
some rumours I heard?
I hope you're
different from how it appears
But you're the one who decides
Even though I didn't reply to this message, a day or two later, Dusan Mihajlovic called me on
my land line in the house in Ub (the number of which I did not know the number myself) and
asked me to come to the church in Ub where he would wait for me and that it was very, very
urgent.
In the church, Mihajlovic was speaking with the priests and when I entered he asked that we
talk alone.
He immediately started to gesticulate angrily and to talk to me loud:
"Why did you tell Beba about our meetings and deals?! Are you crazy?! Do you want to end
up in prison?! We're all mad and angry! There are talks that I am racketeering you and that
I'm blackmailing you with the investigation! Batic called me and told me that I should stop
racketeering you!! Hey, do you know what you did?! Beba told it to everyone, he told the
journalists, judges, police, politicians…You're done now…"
I told him that thousands people saw us in Soko Grad and Valjevo, that everyone knows that I
was being set up and that a fake indictment have been prepared which was the consequence of
the investigation he ordered, that everyone knew that too and that people were logically
making their own conclusions.
He was shouting, saying that they could not make that conclusion by themselves:
"How come Beba knew about "C-market" and Paris? How come Batic knows about 20
million? Why do my friends ask me if I am really blackmailing you?"
I told him then: "So tell me Dusan, what is this if not blackmail? You ordered an investigation
against me, asked them to put inside of it everything they could invent and then you showed
me the investigation and told me that you can destroy it if I pay! You took 250 thousand so
far, you're giving me different accounts asking me to pay 15, 20 or 50 million!? What is it if
not blackmail?"
He was probably not expecting that I would tell him this, and he changed the tactics instantly,
started to smile and to look at me in surprise, telling me:
"Eh my compatriot, you didn't get a thing. I wasn't blackmailing you, I was just trying to help
you and to save you from the enemies and in exchange I suggested you to help us, so that we
can beat the enemies together! What you have so far, not only it's peanuts but you also have
no proofs, except for 50 thousand you gave for the campaign. And that it not prohibited and
you gave it voluntarily, I will find ten witnesses who will certify that you begged me to give
the money, and everything else, well we offered you the opportunities to invest…It's stupid
that the compatriots fight between each other, it's exactly what our enemies want…I will try to
stop the investigation from going to the prosecutor's office but you have to be smarter than
what you've been so far…Watch over yourself…" etc.
It is however true that at that time I had started telling everyone that Dusan Mihajlovic was
racketeering me, that this was the reason why a false indictment was in preparation, and I
tried to explain what was going on to as many people as possible. This is when I told it also to
Vladimir Popovic (Beba) as well as to Vladan Batic, many journalists and business partners
from Belgrade but also to the then chief of the Department for the fight against organized
crime (UBOPOK) Mladen Spasic.
The meeting with Spasic was organized by a business partner from Belgrade, Cicmil Milos.
At the meeting, I told to the chief criminal police of Serbian MUP all that was going on with
Mihajlovic, the blackmail, extortion, about the false indictment which was in preparation
because I did not want to give 20 or 50 million…Mladen Spasic told me that he and almost
everyone else in the police knew that Dusan Mihajlovic had started the investigation "The
Web" to blackmail people. That they know that he had taken money from a certain number of
people already, that he had brought Glusica and Pusic to the MUP, that they practically just
continued doing a private investigation but that he was unable to do anything because the new
Minister of police Dragan Jocic considered this with approval. He told me he was sorry, that
he understood everything but that it was beyond his capacities.
In the meantime, Mihajlovic kept sending me the messages that he was waiting for me to
schedule the meeting but, after the meeting with Spasic, I left Belgrade, went to Switzerland
and sent a message to Mihajlovic that we would meet tomorrow.
I stopped answering to his messages which I was receiving all the time. And then, he sent me
a message on the 1st of September:
From +381631111860 at September 1, 2004 10:50, 39:
I learned almost everything
still have to put all together
because it can be
very simple
It would be good
to meet and to get serious
to synchronize our action
but I'm in trouble
all over the place
regards
A few days later, he called me from a hidden number and asked me to meet, saying that he
had a favourable solution for everything, especially for my problem. I accepted but I asked
from him to verify everything in details before we meet and that I was only interested in the
final solution.
A couple of days later, he sent me a new message:
From +381631111860 at September 9, 2004 18:35, 22 :
Complicated because
too many players
they won't do
anything without agreement.
Many things in
the works at the moment
When do we meet?
With prior agreement with my lawyers and security agents, I called him to come to
Switzerland where we met again in the hotel "Dolder" in Zurich.
The meeting started with an explanation about how the whole investigation started:
"It's true compatriot, I'm guilty, I brought that guy Glusica to the MUP on request of a
business partner form Slovenia…I gave to Vuk (Miodrag Vukovic) to work with him and
Pusic. Glusica became very close with Bogdan Pusic and the latter was close with that
prosecutor Pavlovic from Novi Sad and they are looking now to became famous…Jocic also
got involved in everything and now it's much more difficult to deal with this… Vukovic does
write the book…
You made a mistake compatriot because you let the things go this far, you should have
reacted before…"
Then he went on to ask me whether I made a deal with DSS, about my relations with
Kostunica, Jocic, Tadic, Kasa, Covic, Mirko Petrovic…He claimed that no deal with DSS can
help me out, if I had made it, because he was supposedly still holding everything under his
control…
Since I came to the meeting wired, I provoked him by asking him if there was still a
possibility to arrange everything and how much would that cost…
"Well…Hmmm…Maybe…This is your last chance…everything could still be
arranged…but…eeee…this is your last chance
Thirty…to stop everything"
To my question: Thirty million?
He responded:
"Aaa…yes, but to stop everything…"
He stated again that I can transfer all the money to the account of Slobodan Radulovic or
Vujic from Valjevo or to some other account if I want to but that everything had to be done
quickly, and I replied that I needed 2 days to think and to give him an answer.
This was the last time I saw him.
With the evidence I collected, I decided to file a criminal complaint against him with the
prosecutor in Switzerland and publicly and in writing to inform the authorities in charge of
security in several European countries. Shortly thereafter, I told to everyone I knew about
everything that Mihajlovic was doing and, through individuals close to the government in
Belgrade, I also informed almost everyone from the Serbian Government.
Since at that time I was in business arrangements with Dragi Micovic (everything was
explained in details in my last statement on "Vecernje novosti"), I informed through him
almost all the officials about the blackmail done by Dusan Mihajlovic. From the general
secretary of the Government, Dejan Mihajlov, to the director of the BIA Rade Bulatovic,
Minister of police Dragan Jocic and others.
I was assured that the police and prosecutor would verify my allegations and that I would be
called to make a deposition but nothing happened; instead, a private investigation, which was
ordered by Dusan Mihajlovic with the purpose to blackmail people, was transformed into a
false indictment which was signed by your predecessor, which triggered a false trial where the
accusation from the indictment are still defended by the prosecutor's office which you are
heading.
This statement has a direct connection with the statement I sent to you on May 25 of this year,
because the close collaborators of Dusan Mihajlovic, Milan Beko and Miroslav Miskovic,
continued the process of blackmails and extortions based on the investigation "The Web" and
criminal activities of Dusan Mihajlovic.
Using different methods, such as business activities, they managed to take away from me
several dozens of millions of Euros by using a false investigation orchestrated by their friend,
also a member of the organized criminal group, as a blackmail tool, which I explained in
details in my last statement.
That everything was done to deprive me from a portion of my assets, is evidenced by the fact
that from all the groups which had been initially indicated in the investigation "The Web",
only 6 groups have been referred to the prosecutor's office, out of which only 3 have been
supposedly investigated but in reality, it was narrowed down to a single one and a criminal
trial is currently conducted only against me with the purpose to show what cannot be shown,
by using all illegal means.
Through police pressure on witnesses, producing forged evidence, media condemnations even
before the indictment, political pressures of the highest State officials, the private
investigation of the Minister Mihajlovic became a charade and the way to pressure me more
for daily political purposes.
Answering the question of a journalist who asked if all 8 groups and more than 200
individuals investigated would be processes, your predecessor declared:
"All persons who have been involved in illegal commerce of tobacco products on the Serbian
market will be investigated. Do not put me in a position to cite the names, but I am telling
you: all persons will be investigated"
More than three years passed since that and public opinion as well as you know that it never
happened and that the largest cigarettes smugglers got away, that they are now respected
businessmen and sponsors of political parties and that the only criminal procedure which is
currently conducted is the one against myself and my assistants before the Court for organized
crime for the crime of "abuse of position in a private company".
I do not intend to discuss with you the indictment and the way it has been written but I
consider that it is not possible to ignore the facts which have been set out hereby and which
have been integrated in the indictment, which the prosecutor's office that you are heading still
defends, as a result of criminal actions.
This especially since you declared yourself on several occasions that nobody will have a free
pass to commit wrongdoings, no matter what his position or function and that, in the fight
against the organized crime, the most important thing is to discover and punish the officials
who abused their powers to allow and protect the criminal actions.
You have in front of you a textbook example of such abuse of powers and some of the most
dangerous wrongdoings of the organized crime: racketeering, blackmail and extortion by
using the resources of the executive power.
Since this document will be published, I did not cite the names of people and institutions to
which I reported the criminal wrongdoings of Dusan Mihajlovic, as well as the potential
witnesses and their addresses but it goes without saying that I am ready to give this
information as well as all connected documentation to the representatives of the prosecutor in
direct contact with them.
I emphasize the fact that I possess almost all SMS exchanges with Dusan Mihajlovic, dates
and times of his telephone calls, recorded conversations (some even in audio and video
format), minutes prepared by my lawyers, signed by witnesses, a number of hotel and other
invoices which all confirm my allegations in this statement.
I am ready to provide all this to the representatives of the prosecutor, if you are ready to open
an investigation based on the described crimes, which must, I repeat, it is mandatory to
prosecute.
Stanko Subotic
Geneva, 9 August 2010
* NB: a portion of citations of Dusan Mihajlovic was based on the recollection whereas a
portion was based on the transcriptions of the recorded conversations during our meetings.