Serbian Journalists Call for Media Privatisation Probe

The Journalists Association of Serbia on Monday asked the Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering, part of the Serbian finance ministry, to check the origin of money which was used in the recent privatisation of some media outlets in the country.

It urged the authorities to check the bank accounts of individuals and companies connected to the people or legal entities that bought media during the privatisation process for any evidence of wrongdoing.

It is also said that the public has the right to know whose money and whose interests are behind the media privatisations and how it will affect the editorial policies of the outlets that were sold off by the state.

The proposed probe was supported by the Independent Association of Serbian Journalists, NUNS.

"I support the idea, but this is something that should be done on a daily basis, not just when some major investments are involved," Vukasin Obradovic, the head of NUNS, told BIRN.

"The public needs to know whether the regulations have been respected and should know the origin of the capital," he added.

He said that following the money trail could show whether the media privatisation process was a success or a failure.

"If we judge by the current investors, I am not able to label the privatisation process so far as a successful one," Obradovic said.

Of 72 media outlets owned by the state, 18 have been sold since the process started at the beginning of the August.

Radoica Milosavljevic, a little-known businessman from Serbian central town of Krusevac, has bought seven local media outlets so far, according to media reports.

The total amount he spent was not officially confirmed but it is believed that he has invested more than 200,000 euros so...