Paradise Papers Reveal Serbian Minister's Giant Fortune

Documents from the so-called Paradise Papers, leaked last year, show that Serbia's Minister for Innovation and Technological Development, Nenad Popovic, has a fortune of least 75 million US dollars, the Crime and Corruption Reporting Network, KRIK, revealed on Monday.

"The leaked documents give a detailed insight into ... Popovic's business empire and wealth," said KRIK, which cooperated with OCCRP and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, ICIJ, on the international Paradise Papers project.

According to KRIK, Popovic's property assets are worth at least 75 million US dollars, but their market value is believed to be more than 100 million US dollars, making him the richest politician in Serbia.

Popovic has denied that any of his companies are registered in the off-shore tax havens mentioned in the Paradise Papers investigation, claiming they are all registered in Russia and Europe.

"Most importantly, as a state official, I declared [ownership of] all my companies to the Anti-Corruption Agency," Popovic said, adding that he also reported all the property he gained before becoming Minister.

In his most recent report to Serbia's Anti-Corruption Agency from July 2017, Popovic listed ownership of 23 companies, land, five apartments and ten garage spaces, but their worth is not publicly available on the agency's website.

Popovic, who heads the Serbian People's Party and has business interests in Russia, is strongly pro-Russian and hostile to migrants, having called for a border wall to be built to keep refugees out.

"After becoming deputy speaker of parliament, Popovic came to the idea of reorganizing his wealth through a complex network of off-shore companies that would be controlled by a trust from Hong...