Dacic testifies about gov’t policy in Galenika case

BELGRADE – Serbia’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic confirmed Friday that he had testified as witnesses at the Special Court for Organized Crime regarding the Galenika case where, to his knowledge, foreign companies had been favored at the detriment of the local pharmaceutical factory.

“I was asked for information about how the government reacted when the crisis concerning payments came about and what the policy of the government was when it came to favoring certain companies on the market,” he said.

“I was only speaking about the government’s policy in this period, and not my accountability,” Dacic told a regular monthly press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He said that to his knowlwdge, German company Stada had been favored in the case at the detriment of Galenika, adding that the then minister of health had told him that the factory could not be selling drugs directly but only through wholesalers.

The goal was not to make the Germans angry lest they left the country, and to reach a compromise,” Dacic said, adding that the business dealings of Galenika in the period under consideration was something the then ministers in charge of that area should speak about.

He stated that he had been told by the court that former Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, former economy minister Mladjan Dinkic and the then secretary of state at the Ministry of Economy, Nebojsa Ciric, would also give their testimonies.

Nine people were arrested and placed in detention in May this year, following three investigations into the shady dealings in Galenika, which was run by SPS officials.

The list of arrestees includes former Galenika general manager Nenad...