Serbia’s former Minister of Economy, Rade Basta, was arrested this Wednesday in Belgrade on the order of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office. Rade Basta’s arrest is linked to suspicions that he caused financial damage of tens of millions of dinars to the public enterprise “Beogradske elektrane”.
According to Serbian media, the suspicions relate to the period when Basta headed this enterprise, which administers the central heating system in the Serbian capital, before he took up his government post. He has not been declared guilty, and the investigation continues on the basis of the authorities’ suspicions, not a court ruling, according to Euronews Albania, Telegrafi, BalkanWeb, Java News and Shqiptarja.com.
Investigators suspect that Basta approved donations and unjustified payments to various sports organizations, including small football and basketball clubs, as well as a horse riding club. According to these suspicions, public funds were distributed without any legal grounds for these financings, causing the aforementioned damage to the enterprise.
The authorities are verifying how the enterprise’s public funds were approved and distributed, as well as the responsibilities of the persons involved. The arrest was carried out by officers of the Anti-Corruption Unit, who are conducting a broad operation involving checks and searches of various premises.
According to unofficial information broadcast by RTS, several other persons suspected of links to the case are also being taken in as part of the same investigation. Serbian media report that these persons are linked to Basta’s activity while heading the enterprise. The investigations into the alleged financial damage continue, while the authorities are expected to determine the criminal responsibility of the former minister and the other persons involved.
Rade Basta held the post of Minister of Economy in the Serbian government from October 2022 until 2023, when he was dismissed from the position. He had been appointed to this post as a representative of the party “United Serbia” (Jedinstvena Srbija). His dismissal came after public statements about the need for Serbia to take a position on the imposition of sanctions on Russia for its aggression against Ukraine.
At that time, Basta called on the Serbian government to urgently declare itself in favour of sanctions against the Russian Federation, a stance that clashed with the policy pursued by the official Belgrade government. After leaving the government, he founded the political movement “European Path” (Evropski put). The party “United Serbia”, which had proposed him for the ministerial post, later demanded his removal from all party and public functions, referring to his statements in support of sanctions against Moscow.
Basta’s departure from the government was not related to the current investigation, but to his political positions on the war in Ukraine. His arrest comes at a time when the Serbian authorities are focusing on the management of public funds in large state-owned enterprises. The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade is leading the investigation, while the operation of arrests and searches continues in several premises.
So far, the investigation remains at the stage of suspicions, and no court ruling has established the guilt of the former minister or of the other persons taken in.