Former SIEPA heads placed in 30-day detention

BELGRADE - The Special Court in Belgrade placed in detention on Thursday Jasna Matic, former minister of telecommunications and former director of the Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA), and three other heads of the agency for up to 30 days.

Upon the recommendation by the Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office, the judge in charge of the investigative proceedings placed them in detention because of the risk that they may influence witnesses in the course of the investigation, Dusica Ristic, a spokesperson for the Court, told Tanjug.

Together with Matic, former SIEPA directors Bozidar Laganin and Vesna Peric and deputy director of the agency Bojan Jankovic were also detained.

They were arrested on Wednesday. After the questioning, the prosecution launched an investigation on suspicion that they committed the crime of abuse of office that calls for a prison sentence between two and 12 years
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The former SIEPA heads are charged with causing losses of about RSD 120 million to the Serbian budget through the unjustified payments, arising from “contracts on non-existent temporary services”, and thus unlawfully acquiring RSD 90 million in the period from 2006 to 2013.

Photo Tanjug/R. Prelic (Archive)