“Delta Holding owner to be investigated if necessary”

BELGRADE Serbian PM Ivica Dacic said Wednesday Delta Holding owner Miroslav Miskovic would be investigated if there were reasons and evidence that crimes were committed. “Miskovic's companies will be under investigation if there are reasons and enough evidence that crimes were committed,” he told reporters. “Delta Holding owner to be investigated if necessary” He noted that First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic had said that there were certain cases on the list of privatizations which would be investigated to the very end. The PM and interior minister said that it was not possible to tell the prosecution and the police “work on this case but do not work on that one” and that it was impossible to hide anything. He also announced the continuation of the investigation into abuses in Agrobanka and controversial privatizations. Dacic stressed that numerous cases of purchase of land through the purchase of agricultural companies would also be investigated. The PM added that he was sorry that a criminal group suspected of cocaine smuggling was acquitted in Slovenia. The evidence against the group was collected in the police operation dubbed “Balkan Warrior”. “I am sorry. This was a good operation and we are still ready to cooperate. They were released because all the wiretapping procedures were not right but nobody denied the heart of the matter or whether they are guilty or now, they only disputed the way the pieces of evidence were collected,” he explained. Commenting on the wiretapping affair, Dacic repeated that the probe was conducted by the Prosecution and the police’s Internal Affairs Sector. Ivica Dacic and Nikola Selakovic (Beta) We start from our own backyard, justice minister says Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic has said that the government will, unlike the previous one that only fought against corruption sporadically, build a system for an efficient combat against corruption. He added that the government would start “from its own backyard” and at the same time reveal large corruption affairs that had incurred damages to the state budget in the past. At the opening of the Serbian Anti-Corruption Forum, the minister said that the state’s repression would be directed against “both those who are corrupted and those who had corrupted them” and that the police and the Prosecution would put an end to it. “Our country will soon get a new strategy for combat against corruption. Will it only be a letter on a paper? I am convinced that it will not. We are aware that our country is fighting against the corruption system and that is why we are creating a system to fight against it,” Selakovic explained. He warned that corruption had “penetrated every pore of the Serbian society” and that it was now clear that the main challenge was not sporadic but systemic corruption. The justice minister noted that the new strategy would be based on several pillars – political will, public sector and state administration reforms, strengthening of the Anti-Corruption Agency, improvement of the citizens, judiciary and media’s awareness and creation of a responsible private sector. He stressed, however, that the “heart of the combat against corruption will be the state”. “The state must not and this time it will not be corrupt. It is a painstaking process to build such a system and nobody is allowed to give up on it because their attentions would be questioned that way. The enemy is powerful and that is why we need a good strategy. But the strategy is just one element and others are people who will implement the strategy,” Selakovic said. He announced that the Justice Ministry would pass the Integrity Plan and Ethic Code by the end of the month and that a very important anti-corruption Law on Protection of Whistleblowers would be proposed in the first half of 2013. The minister said that the judiciary needed to be more efficient in combat against corruption because Serbia did not have a single prosecutor specialized for corruption while Austria had more than 45. “The combat against corruption is led by the state but the state needs to arm citizens and take them to combat and all parts of the society need to take responsibility for the existence of corruption and combat against it,” he stressed, adding that the “zero tolerance” policy when it came to corruption meant that everybody who stole from the state or the citizens would be held responsible. Selakovic also pointed out the importance of prevention that needed to be based on responsibility of every citizen and civil servant and on the transparency of the government’s work. He explained that the media were a key factor in combat against corruption and improvement of awareness about the harmfulness of corruption. “The main problem of the citizens is the fact that they do not report corruption. The first reason is fear, the second lack of interest and this is why combat against corruption needs to start in local communities and local leaders need to be capable of leading it,” Selakovic said, adding that media and the Anti-Corruption Agency played important roles in the process. Beta Tanjug

“Delta Holding owner to be investigated if necessary”

He noted that First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić had said that there were certain cases on the list of privatizations which would be investigated to the very end.

The PM and interior minister said that it was not possible to tell the prosecution and the police “work on this case but do not work on that one” and that it was impossible to hide anything.

He also announced the continuation of the investigation into abuses in Agrobanka and controversial privatizations. Dačić stressed that numerous cases of purchase of land through the purchase of agricultural companies would also be investigated.

The PM added that he was sorry that a criminal group suspected of cocaine smuggling was acquitted in Slovenia. The evidence against the group was collected in the police operation dubbed “Balkan Warrior”.

“I am sorry. This was a good operation and we are still ready to cooperate. They were released because all the wiretapping procedures were not right but nobody denied the heart of the matter or whether they are guilty or now, they only disputed the way the pieces of evidence were collected,” he explained.

Commenting on the wiretapping affair, Dačić repeated that the probe was conducted by the Prosecution and the police’s Internal Affairs Sector.

We start from our own backyard, justice minister says

Justice Minister Nikola Selaković has said that the government will, unlike the previous one that only fought against corruption sporadically, build a system for an efficient combat against corruption.

He added that the government would start “from its own backyard” and at the same time reveal large corruption affairs that had incurred damages to the state budget in the past.

At the opening of the Serbian Anti-Corruption Forum, the minister said that the state’s repression would be directed against “both those who are corrupted and those who had corrupted them” and that the police and the Prosecution would put an end to it.

“Our country will soon get a new strategy for combat against corruption. Will it only be a letter on a paper? I am convinced that it will not. We are aware that our country is fighting against the corruption system and that is why we are creating a system to fight against it,” Selaković explained.

He warned that corruption had “penetrated every pore of the Serbian society” and that it was now clear that the main challenge was not sporadic but systemic corruption.

The justice minister noted that the new strategy would be based on several pillars – political will, public sector and state administration reforms, strengthening of the Anti-Corruption Agency, improvement of the citizens, judiciary and media’s awareness and creation of a responsible private sector. He stressed, however, that the “heart of the combat against corruption will be the state”.

“The state must not and this time it will not be corrupt. It is a painstaking process to build such a system and nobody is allowed to give up on it because their attentions would be questioned that way. The enemy is powerful and that is why we need a good strategy. But the strategy is just one element and others are people who will implement the strategy,” Selaković said.

He announced that the Justice Ministry would pass the Integrity Plan and Ethic Code by the end of the month and that a very important anti-corruption Law on Protection of Whistleblowers would be proposed in the first half of 2013.

The minister said that the judiciary needed to be more efficient in combat against corruption because Serbia did not have a single prosecutor specialized for corruption while Austria had more than 45.

“The combat against corruption is led by the state but the state needs to arm citizens and take them to combat and all parts of the society need to take responsibility for the existence of corruption and combat against it,” he stressed, adding that the “zero tolerance” policy when it came to corruption meant that everybody who stole from the state or the citizens would be held responsible.

Selaković also pointed out the importance of prevention that needed to be based on responsibility of every citizen and civil servant and on the transparency of the government’s work.

He explained that the media were a key factor in combat against corruption and improvement of awareness about the harmfulness of corruption.

“The main problem of the citizens is the fact that they do not report corruption. The first reason is fear, the second lack of interest and this is why combat against corruption needs to start in local communities and local leaders need to be capable of leading it,” Selaković said, adding that media and the Anti-Corruption Agency played important roles in the process.