Millennium Team denies executives were arrested; Prosecutors confirm arrest orders were issued

In a statement sent to media outlets, the company said the three executives had spoken to police officers and subsequently left the police station.

"Acting on the instructions of the Third Basic Public Prosecutor's Office, Vujko, Bošnjak and Đulić spoke with the relevant police authorities, after which they left the premises," the company said.

Millennium Team added that it had made itself available to the authorities immediately after learning of the complaint filed against Danube Riverside and its executives.

"Construction documentation relating to the Danube Riverside project was submitted the following day. Court-appointed experts and the building inspector were provided with all necessary logistical support during their inspection of the construction site. Danube Riverside and Millennium Team will continue to cooperate fully with the relevant authorities, as they have done so far, and respond promptly to all requests," the statement said.

The company also stressed that both businesses were operating normally and meeting all their obligations towards employees, business partners and institutions.

"Given that the inaccurate reports about the arrests of Stojan Vujko, Ivan Bošnjak and Andreja Đulić have caused public concern, we call on media outlets to correct the published reports in accordance with professional standards and provide the public with accurate information," Millennium Team said.

Both companies said they remained available to provide additional information about their operations.

Prosecutors respond: Arrest orders were issued

However, the Third Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade subsequently disputed the company's account, stating that reports claiming the three suspects had given statements to police and then been released were inaccurate.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, written orders to locate and arrest S. V., I. B. and A. Đ. were issued on November 10.

The orders were issued on suspicion that officials of Millennium Team and Danube Riverside had committed the criminal offence of construction without a building permit, under Article 219a of Serbia's Criminal Code.

Prosecutors claimed that police officers initially delayed acting on the orders, requesting that they be submitted in writing.

After the written orders were delivered, the suspects were brought to a police station to be served with detention orders.

However, during the arrest procedure, the suspects' lawyers informed police that they had submitted requests earlier that day to the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade seeking the recusal of the prosecutor handling the case, the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Third Basic Public Prosecutor's Office and two court-appointed experts.

According to the Third Basic Public Prosecutor's Office, the recusal requests triggered a legal obligation for the prosecutors concerned to suspend further action until a decision on the requests had been made.

The office said that all four individuals named in the requests had submitted their responses on November 10 and that the complete case files had been prepared for urgent submission to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade.

However, according to information relayed by Miodrag Marković, his superior had stated that the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office would not accept the files until Thursday, November 12.

The Third Basic Public Prosecutor's Office described the delay in ruling on the recusal requests as unacceptable, particularly in a case where arrest orders had already been issued.

It stressed that a public holiday could not justify postponing action in an urgent case.

The office therefore publicly called on the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade to accept the case files immediately and issue an urgent decision on the recusal requests, allowing proceedings against the suspects to continue.