Serbian Bank Fraudster ‘Didn’t Import Arms for Security Service’

Former Serbian State Security operative Radivoje Micic told the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals on Thursday that controversial businesswoman Dafina Milanovic, who ran her bank as a pyramid scheme, did not help defendant Franko 'Frenki' Simatovic in 1993 by giving him money or helping him import arms and aircraft.

Micic said that Milanovic, whose depositors' money disappeared when her Dafiment Bank went bankrupt, was under surveillance by the Serbian State Security Service, the SDB.

One SDB report on the surveillance of Milanovic quoted her as saying she did not trust Simatovic and that he did not trust her either.

"She said that this was not fair because she, allegedly, at one point in time imported two trucks with equipment, helmets, bulletproof vests and night sights from Austria and two aircraft from the United States for Frenki's requirements and, in fact, had equipped 5,000 of his men," the SDB report said.

Micic was one of the authors of the report but he says he did not believe Milanovic's claims. But the prosecutor argued Micic had not properly checked the facts.

"It is the prosecution's position that you never took any steps to verify this information because that would not have suited Mr. Simatovic, and you have just fabricated your testimony on this issue to mislead the chamber about the truth of Ms. Milanovic statements concerning Mr. Simatovic, is not that right?" the prosecutor asked.

But Micic insisted that arms and aircraft could not have been imported as Milanovic claimed without being recorded in an official database, which did not happen.

"At that time they [the SDB] had their own people at the airport, constantly based there, some information could have been checked," he said.