A criminal investigation into the collapse of Alta Bank is putting Serbia’s political and business establishment under renewed scrutiny. Davor Macura, the bank’s owner and a businessman reportedly close to Aleksandar Vučić’s political circle, has been arrested over suspicions that approximately €383 million was unlawfully withdrawn from the institution. The collapse has also left thousands of Russian citizens and businesses in Serbia unable to access their accounts.
The scandal raises serious questions about the business networks operating close to Serbia’s former ruling establishment, the effectiveness of financial supervision and whether politically connected businessmen received adequate scrutiny.
The National Bank of Serbia revoked Alta Bank’s licence on October 31, citing deteriorating financial conditions and liquidity problems. Two days later, Macura and two other individuals were arrested. The investigation concerns allegations that approximately €383 million was taken from the bank. Their guilt has not been established by a court.
Macura’s business empire and connections to Vučić’s circle
Macura began his business activities with a small currency exchange office in Zemun in 2008. Over the years, he expanded into payment services, banking, real estate and retail. In 2019, he acquired a state-owned shareholding in JUBMES Bank, which later became Alta Bank.
Investigative reporting has examined business connections involving Macura’s companies and figures associated with Vučić’s wider political and business network, including Nikola Petrović, Milan Radoičić and Zvonko Veselinović.
These connections do not automatically establish criminal wrongdoing. However, they make the circumstances surrounding Macura’s business expansion and the bank’s collapse particularly important to investigate.
His name also appeared in a request by US Congressman Joe Wilson calling for sanctions against several Serbian businessmen whom he described as connected to Vučić and suspected of using public resources for personal enrichment. Alta Bank had previously denied the allegations.
Now, with Macura under criminal investigation, the central question is whether Serbia’s institutions properly scrutinised a businessman operating within circles reportedly close to the political establishment.
Serbia’s banking regulator under scrutiny
The National Bank of Serbia is facing questions over how Alta Bank was allowed to reach such a critical financial position.
Economist Đorđe Đukić argues that the regulator should have taken preventive action earlier, given its responsibility to monitor banks and assess the financial risks they report.
If the warning signs were there, why did the regulator fail to intervene before the situation escalated? Who was responsible for monitoring the bank, and why did customers only discover the extent of the crisis after its licence was revoked?
The investigation must establish where the alleged €383 million went, who authorised the transactions and whether anyone helped conceal the bank’s deteriorating financial position.
Russian businesses and customers caught up in the collapse
The consequences have extended to thousands of Russian citizens and companies operating in Serbia. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and subsequent Western sanctions, Alta Bank became one of the banking options available to Russian customers who struggled to open accounts elsewhere.
According to commercial database figures obtained by RSE, approximately 6,500 Russian-owned companies had at least one account with Alta Bank.
The closure has left customers unable to access their deposits and businesses facing difficulties conducting transactions. Serbia’s Deposit Insurance Agency has said insured deposits will be reimbursed up to €50,000 per depositor once bankruptcy proceedings begin.
The presence of Russian customers, however, does not change the central issue: the investigation must establish how the bank operated, how such a large sum allegedly disappeared and whether the regulatory authorities fulfilled their responsibilities.
The unanswered questions behind Vučić’s Serbia
Alta Bank’s collapse came just days after the October 25 elections, in which the SNS lost power after 14 years.
The timing adds another layer of scrutiny to the political and business networks developed during Vučić’s years in government.
A businessman reportedly close to the former ruling establishment is under criminal investigation. Hundreds of millions of euros are at the centre of allegations of unlawful withdrawals. The financial regulator is facing questions about its supervision, while thousands of customers have lost access to their accounts.
Serbia needs clear answers: Who knew about Alta Bank’s financial problems? Why were preventive measures not taken earlier? Where did the alleged €383 million go? And will the investigation reach everyone responsible, regardless of their political connections?
The collapse of Alta Bank is another serious test for Serbia’s institutions. Political connections cannot become protection from scrutiny, and the fall of Vučić’s government must not mean that the business networks built around it escape accountability.
