Arrests in Azotara plant corruption case

Arrests in Azotara plant corruption case

BELGRADE -- Zekstra company owner and executive board chairman of the Veterinary Institute Dragan Đurić has been placed under arrest, Tanjug reported.

Along with him, owner and director of Akter DOO Tihomir Trišić and owner of Staša DOO Milan Divljak were also detained on Friday.

The the are suspected of irregularities in fertilizer trading, which resulted in a EUR 7.5 million loss for the Pančevo-based mineral fertilizer plant Azotara.

The arrest was conducted by members of the Interior Ministry in cooperation with the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime as part of an ongoing investigation into 24 dubious privatizations.

Đurić was previously arrested in January, and set free several weeks later when he posted bail of EUR 2 million. At the time, he was detained over a criminal complaint the police filed against him in connection to the privatization of the Veterniary Institute.

The institute was privatized in 2005 when it was purchased by the Zekstra company. Đurić was suspected of obtaining an unlawful gain of over RSD 207 million for the consortium of legal entities Zektra (LLC) and Bankom (LLC) in the privatization process, the prosecution said in early 2014.