Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Marko Parezanović, an official of Serbia’s Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), are expected to be summoned as witnesses in the trial of Darko Šarić, who is accused of money laundering, the Serbian investigative outlet Insajder has reported.
The decision was announced by Vladan Ivanković, president of the judicial panel at the Special Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade. An Insajder reporter was present at the hearing.
Šarić and several other defendants are standing trial on suspicion of laundering at least €20 million allegedly obtained through drug trafficking.
In 2020, Šarić was initially sentenced to nine years in prison in the case. However, the verdict was overturned two years later, and a retrial was ordered.
Being summoned as a witness does not mean that Vučić or Parezanović are suspects or defendants in the proceedings.
In October, the Belgrade-based weekly Radar published excerpts of communications from the encrypted Sky application. According to the publication, the messages were exchanged between Darko Šarić, who was in detention, his brother Duško Šarić, and their relative Željko Vujanović.
Radar reported that the nicknames “Oskar” and “Čvarak” were used to refer to Vučić in those exchanges.
Vučić has denied any connection to the communications, insisting that he never used a Sky phone. Parezanović previously told the investigative outlet KRIK that he had never owned a Sky phone or maintained contact with Šarić’s criminal group.
