Delta Holding owner "will be questioned about Nibens Group"

BELGRADE The police on Monday questioned Delta Holding owner Miroslav Miskovic for four hours, on the subject of Delreal. However, B92 has learned that the Prosecution has much more evidence about his dealings with Milo Djuraskovic's Nibens Group. Delta Holding owner "will be questioned about Nibens Group" Police Director Milorad Veljovic confirmed for B92 that the police interviewed the owner of Serbia's largest private company "as a citizen", and only related to Delreal, but that in the days they also intend to ask for his statement on Nibens, and all other issues related to controversial privatizations where his name has been mentioned. "Today (Monday) there was no mention of Nibens Group, considering that Miskovic said he was not ready for a conversation on that subject, so we will interview him in the coming days, again as a citizen and in the presence of the prosecutor, on those circumstances, where we again see what his view of it is." We'll present it all to the prosecutor, and the prosecutor will give a final and decisive word," the outgoing police director stated. Veljovic, however, did not specify when the new questioning will be conducted, and described Miskovic's behavior on Monday as "fair and cooperative". Nibens Group is a Serbian road maintenance industry giant, consisting of six large companies with more than 5,000 workers who are tasked with maintaining some 6,600 kilometers of roads. This means that the group has held more than 35 percent of the whole territory of Serbia, and it is through these activities that it was able to bring in more that EU 70mn. B92 TV's investigative program insider looked into the business connections between Milo Djuraskovic and Miroslav Miskovic in a series broadcast in 2009. Nibens Group was created through a series of privatizations, starting when the PZP Nis company was bought by a consortium head by the previously anonymous businessman Milo Djuraskovic - a native of Berane, in northern Montenegro. After this, a number of other road construction companies were privatized, with Djuraskovic's usually turning out to be the winning bids. In this way, he acquired the largest road companies covering the areas of Belgrade, and the province of Vojvodina. His partner in the acquisitions, in the then newly-formed consortium, was Miskovic's Delta Holding. In total, the acquisitions cost more than EUR 42mn, with an additional obligation to invest EUR 27mn more. The media speculated that Miskovic was in fact behind the entire operation. According to the Serbian Business Registers Agency, as soon as in 2006, Delta withdrew from open ownership in the companies. Sheer Corporation, owned by Djuraskovic, and Mera Investment, based in the British Virgin Islands, took over as owners at this time. Back in 2008, Insider published that Marko Miskovic, the son of Miroslav Miskovic, was behind the offshore company. Djuraskovic was arrested in 2011 and charged with abuse of official position when he incurred damages tp the FAM company - another that he bought in a privatization, worth more than EUR 32mn. The manner in which Djuraskovic came to possess the initial capital needed to make the acquisitions has never been clarified. Before he entered the road maintenance business in 2003, Djuraskovic owned several gas stations in Belgrade and was in the fuel business since the mid-1990s. When he became minister of infrastructure in the previous government, Milutin Mrkonjic appointed Zoran Drobnjak as director of the public road enterprise Roads of Serbia (Putevi Srbije). Drobnjak was previously employed as technical director in Djuraskovic's PZP Beograd company. It is also of interest that the SPS party, from which Mrkonjic hails, received RSD 1.5mn from Nibens and Sheer as donation for their 2007election campaign. Miroslav Miskovic (Beta) B92

Delta Holding owner "will be questioned about Nibens Group"

Police Director Milorad Veljović confirmed for B92 that the police interviewed the owner of Serbia's largest private company "as a citizen", and only related to Delreal, but that in the days they also intend to ask for his statement on Nibens, and all other issues related to controversial privatizations where his name has been mentioned.

"Today (Monday) there was no mention of Nibens Group, considering that Mišković said he was not ready for a conversation on that subject, so we will interview him in the coming days, again as a citizen and in the presence of the prosecutor, on those circumstances, where we again see what his view of it is." We'll present it all to the prosecutor, and the prosecutor will give a final and decisive word," the outgoing police director stated.

Veljović, however, did not specify when the new questioning will be conducted, and described Mišković's behavior on Monday as "fair and cooperative".

Nibens Group is a Serbian road maintenance industry giant, consisting of six large companies with more than 5,000 workers who are tasked with maintaining some 6,600 kilometers of roads.

This means that the group has held more than 35 percent of the whole territory of Serbia, and it is through these activities that it was able to bring in more that EU 70mn.

B92 TV's investigative program insider looked into the business connections between Milo Đurašković and Miroslav Mišković in a series broadcast in 2009.

Nibens Group was created through a series of privatizations, starting when the PZP Niš company was bought by a consortium head by the previously anonymous businessman Milo Đurašković - a native of Berane, in northern Montenegro.

After this, a number of other road construction companies were privatized, with Đurašković's usually turning out to be the winning bids. In this way, he acquired the largest road companies covering the areas of Belgrade, and the province of Vojvodina.

His partner in the acquisitions, in the then newly-formed consortium, was Mišković's Delta Holding.

In total, the acquisitions cost more than EUR 42mn, with an additional obligation to invest EUR 27mn more.

The media speculated that Mišković was in fact behind the entire operation.

According to the Serbian Business Registers Agency, as soon as in 2006, Delta withdrew from open ownership in the companies. Sheer Corporation, owned by Đurašković, and Mera Investment, based in the British Virgin Islands, took over as owners at this time. Back in 2008, Insider published that Marko Mišković, the son of Miroslav Mišković, was behind the offshore company.

Đurašković was arrested in 2011 and charged with abuse of official position when he incurred damages tp the FAM company - another that he bought in a privatization, worth more than EUR 32mn. The manner in which Đurašković came to possess the initial capital needed to make the acquisitions has never been clarified.

Before he entered the road maintenance business in 2003, Đurašković owned several gas stations in Belgrade and was in the fuel business since the mid-1990s.

When he became minister of infrastructure in the previous government, Milutin Mrkonjić appointed Zoran Drobnjak as director of the public road enterprise Roads of Serbia (Putevi Srbije). Drobnjak was previously employed as technical director in Đurašković's PZP Beograd company.

It is also of interest that the SPS party, from which Mrkonjić hails, received RSD 1.5mn from Nibens and Sheer as donation for their 2007election campaign.