Serbia’s Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office has announced the arrest of three people in an investigation into suspected financial misconduct at Alta Bank, alleging that one of the suspects removed approximately 45 billion dinars (more than €380 million) from the bank’s vault.
The arrests were carried out on Monday in cooperation with officers from the Criminal Police Directorate, the Service for Combating Organized Crime and the department responsible for tackling organized financial crime.
The suspects are identified by their initials as D.M., an official responsible for Alta Bank’s operations; G.M., director of the bank’s Treasury and Cash Management Department; and I.P., an employee involved in treasury operations.
Serbian media earlier reported that Davor Macura, the bank’s owner, had been arrested and was being held by police. His lawyer said Macura was expected to appear before the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office after noon on Tuesday.
According to the prosecution, searches were conducted at Alta Bank’s premises and at the residential property of D.M. on October 31 and November 1. Investigators also carried out an inventory of the cash held in the bank’s vault.
The prosecution suspects D.M. of abusing his official position by exceeding his authority and removing money from the bank’s secure vault. The other two suspects are accused of assisting him.
According to the preliminary findings, G.M. and I.P. allegedly enabled unauthorized access to the vault by handing D.M. access cards or using their own cards and presence to allow him to enter the secure deposit area.
Investigators suspect that D.M. used these unauthorized entries to remove cash, allegedly obtaining unlawful financial gain amounting to approximately 45 billion dinars.
All three suspects have been placed in police custody for up to 48 hours. They are expected to be questioned by the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office in the coming days.
The allegations remain under investigation, and the suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty by a final court judgment.
