Around €390 million is suspected of having been illegally misappropriated by Davor Macura, former chairman of the Board of Directors of Alta Bank. However, only a small portion of this amount was allegedly physically taken from the bank’s cash vault, while the vast majority never actually reached the vault and was instead fictitiously recorded as revenue from the foreign exchange service Alta Pay.
These details emerge from the Prosecutor’s Office order launching the investigation, which was reviewed by the Serbian investigative outlet KRIK.
According to the document, approximately €370 million was recorded as daily revenue generated by Alta Pay, but investigators suspect that the money was never deposited into the bank’s central vault. Prosecutors believe it was misappropriated by Macura himself.
Macura is suspected of embezzling more than 45 billion dinars from the institution he headed between the beginning of 2020 and the end of October 2026, during his tenure as chairman of Alta Bank’s Board of Directors.
According to the prosecution, two bank employees assisted him in the alleged scheme: the director of the Treasury and Cash Management Department and an associate responsible for treasury operations.
The prosecution’s order outlines two methods through which Macura allegedly obtained the money. The first involved physically withdrawing cash from the bank’s central vault, while the second involved fictitiously recording revenue from the Alta Pay foreign exchange service.
In the first scheme, Macura allegedly instructed his associates to remove cash from the bank’s vault without leaving a written trail or recording the withdrawals in official documentation. According to prosecutors, these instructions were carried out, resulting in the physical removal of nearly €17 million.
The second method, which accounts for the vast majority of the suspected amount, involved Alta Pay’s reported revenue. According to the document, Macura allegedly instructed that this revenue be recorded as though it had been received and deposited in the bank’s central vault.
However, prosecutors suspect that the money was never actually deposited there and was instead retained by Macura for personal use. Through this scheme, he allegedly misappropriated approximately €370 million.
The prosecution’s order does not explain how Macura obtained possession of the money that was never physically deposited in the bank, where it was kept or how it was subsequently used.
The document provides for the questioning of several witnesses as part of the investigation, including National Bank of Serbia Governor Jorgovanka Tabaković, Director of the Bank Supervision Department Darko Stamenković, members of Alta Bank’s Board of Directors and Executive Board, as well as employees of the central vault.
Davor Macura was arrested on Monday, three days after the National Bank of Serbia revoked Alta Bank’s licence over a severe deterioration in its financial position and risks to depositors.
Macura and his two alleged accomplices have been placed in pre-trial detention due to concerns that they could flee, influence witnesses or repeat the alleged criminal activity.
