The High Court in Belgrade has issued one-month detention orders for 13 individuals suspected of corruption related to the reconstruction of the Novi Sad train station and the modernization of the railway line from Novi Sad to the Hungarian border.
Among those detained are former Serbian ministers Tomislav Momirović and Goran Vesić.
The court confirmed that the detention decision is not final and can be appealed by the suspects’ attorneys within three days, according to Radio Free Europe.
Former Minister of Construction Tomislav Momirović, along with 11 others questioned in the case, has denied all allegations connected to corruption in the railway reconstruction project.
Meanwhile, Goran Vesić, who served as Construction Minister during the period when the station’s canopy collapsed, has not been questioned yet. The Prosecutor’s Office announced on August 2 that medical documents submitted confirm Vesić is undergoing hospital treatment.
All detainees are suspected of causing approximately $115 million in damage to the Serbian state budget through the reconstruction and modernization of the railway line.
Other arrested individuals include Anita Dimoski, a former assistant to Minister Vesić, and Nebojša Šurlan, the former director of Serbian Railway Infrastructure.
The investigation intensified after the newly rebuilt Novi Sad train station suffered a deadly structural failure. Just four months after its official reopening, the station’s canopy collapsed, killing 16 people.
