Serbia has “zero tolerance” for crime, corruption

BELGRADE With the arrests for abuses in Galenika pharmaceutical company, the state has shown it has zero tolerance for crime and corruption, Aleksandar Vucic has said. The Serbian first deputy prime minister told Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) on Saturday that prosecutors had closed the Galanika case and he expected all those responsible for abuse at the company to be held accountable. Serbia has “zero tolerance” for crime, corruption Talking about the methods used to siphon money from the company, Vucic said members of the Galenika management had made deals with a bank and a private company which would perform certain jobs, but all the money would be paid into a bank account and divided among the suspects, while the factory would get neither raw materials nor drugs. He said sculptures had been purchased for the factory at prices inflated twenty times. “The Galenika case is a prime example of how the country was robbed in previous years and decades, but the state has found a way to respond, even though many doubted it would,” noted the first deputy prime minister. "As the people can see today, Serbia is a modern and well-organized state and has zero tolerance for crime and corruption," said Vucic. The deputy PM expects investigations into 24 controversial privatizations will be completed by the end of the year and "everyone will realize crime does not pay." "Everyone involved in organized crime or any form of corruption will be held responsible. This is not our debt to Europe, but to the citizens of this country, our people, and we will continue this work, this is just the beginning," he underscored. "The state will not stop, not in order to pull the wool over anyone's eyes but so that no one would even think of doing such things in Serbia. This should be a lesson to all, everyone needs to know they cannot mess with the state, they cannot steal from the people, and theft and corruption does not pay for anyone in Serbia," concluded Vucic. Eight people suspected of incurring damages worth EUR 12mn to Galenika, were arrested on Saturday morning. Aleksandar Vucic (Tanjug, file) Tanjug

Serbia has “zero tolerance” for crime, corruption

Talking about the methods used to siphon money from the company, Vučić said members of the Galenika management had made deals with a bank and a private company which would perform certain jobs, but all the money would be paid into a bank account and divided among the suspects, while the factory would get neither raw materials nor drugs.

He said sculptures had been purchased for the factory at prices inflated twenty times.

“The Galenika case is a prime example of how the country was robbed in previous years and decades, but the state has found a way to respond, even though many doubted it would,” noted the first deputy prime minister.

"As the people can see today, Serbia is a modern and well-organized state and has zero tolerance for crime and corruption," said Vučić.

The deputy PM expects investigations into 24 controversial privatizations will be completed by the end of the year and "everyone will realize crime does not pay."

"Everyone involved in organized crime or any form of corruption will be held responsible. This is not our debt to Europe, but to the citizens of this country, our people, and we will continue this work, this is just the beginning," he underscored.

"The state will not stop, not in order to pull the wool over anyone's eyes but so that no one would even think of doing such things in Serbia. This should be a lesson to all, everyone needs to know they cannot mess with the state, they cannot steal from the people, and theft and corruption does not pay for anyone in Serbia," concluded Vučić.

Eight people suspected of incurring damages worth EUR 12mn to Galenika, were arrested on Saturday morning.