Tycoon Beko to Get Serbia Railways Back on Track

Businessman Milan Beko on Thursday said he had accepted an offer from Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to become director of the state-owned enterprise Serbian Railways.

“As someone who has often pointed out the problems that Serbian society and economy face, it would be extremely unfair of me to refuse such an offer,” Beko told the daily Blic newspaper on Thursday.

Serbian Railways is one of biggest loss-makers in the country. Last year alone, the state paid 146 million euro for salaries in the public eneterprise.

In a meeting with business people on July 4, Vucic urged the business sector to take over the company and do something with it.

Beko said the poor situation in Serbia’s economy had compelled him to offer his services.

The proposal for his appointment is due to be sent to the assembly of the shareholders’ society for Serbian Railways, which will first make Beko the acting director. After that, the Board of Directors is due to appoint him CEO of the company.

The move comes as surprise given that Beko was questioned by police when Vucic started tackling controversial privatisation deals in the country.

Beko has been identified as a crucial figure in several of these privatisations. His off-shore companies played a role in the sales of the Port of Belgrade, the beverage company Knjaz Milos, the newspaper Vecernje Novosti and the supermarket chain C market.

Beko has also been identified as a major sponsor of political parties, along with the owner of Delta Holding, Miroslav Miskovic.

Beko has succeeded in avoiding public exposure most of the time.

In the 1990s he was an active supporter of the then opposition Democratic Party, becoming godfather...