Customs Officer Arrested in Corruption Investigation in Serbia
A customs officer and several accomplices face allegations of fraud amounting to over 13 million dinars.
In a recent operation targeting corruption, officials from the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, specifically the Criminal Police Directorate's Department for the Fight Against Corruption, in collaboration with the Special Department for Combating Corruption of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Kraljevo, arrested V. A. (born 1976) from Veliko Gradište, a customs officer, on suspicion of abuse of official position.
Alongside V. A., D. S. Đ.
(born 1986), a responsible person at a public customs warehouse (free shop) in Veliko Gradište, as well as employees D. P. (born 1981) and S. P. (born 1985) have also been arrested due to suspected participation in the same criminal offence.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, investigators suspect that from November 2021 to June 2022, V. A., utilizing his official position, facilitated D. P. and S. P. in unlawfully obtaining financial benefits totalling 13,319,191 dinars through unpaid taxes and excise duties, thereby damaging the budget of the Republic of Serbia.
The allegations indicate that V. A. first validated delivery notes from the free shop, where the accused worked, which were issued for foreign ships detailing the actual quantities and values of cigarettes sold.
Subsequently, he allegedly re-validated these delivery notes for the same shipments in the free shop, despite these notes reflecting inflated quantities of excise products, specifically cigarettes.
Moreover, it is alleged that D. S. Đ.
accepted these inflated invoices as genuine, creating official documentation based on them and submitting this to the Customs Office during the shifts in which V. A. was working.
This action reportedly led to a false representation that excise goods had left the territory of Serbia.
As a result, D. S. Đ.
allegedly acquired wrongful financial benefits for her free shop amounting to approximately 1,752,367 dinars, corresponding to the commission fees for the goods sold.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs, along with the Criminal Police Directorate's Department for the Fight Against Corruption, will continue its efforts to combat corruption throughout the Republic of Serbia.
Alongside V. A., D. S. Đ.
(born 1986), a responsible person at a public customs warehouse (free shop) in Veliko Gradište, as well as employees D. P. (born 1981) and S. P. (born 1985) have also been arrested due to suspected participation in the same criminal offence.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, investigators suspect that from November 2021 to June 2022, V. A., utilizing his official position, facilitated D. P. and S. P. in unlawfully obtaining financial benefits totalling 13,319,191 dinars through unpaid taxes and excise duties, thereby damaging the budget of the Republic of Serbia.
The allegations indicate that V. A. first validated delivery notes from the free shop, where the accused worked, which were issued for foreign ships detailing the actual quantities and values of cigarettes sold.
Subsequently, he allegedly re-validated these delivery notes for the same shipments in the free shop, despite these notes reflecting inflated quantities of excise products, specifically cigarettes.
Moreover, it is alleged that D. S. Đ.
accepted these inflated invoices as genuine, creating official documentation based on them and submitting this to the Customs Office during the shifts in which V. A. was working.
This action reportedly led to a false representation that excise goods had left the territory of Serbia.
As a result, D. S. Đ.
allegedly acquired wrongful financial benefits for her free shop amounting to approximately 1,752,367 dinars, corresponding to the commission fees for the goods sold.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs, along with the Criminal Police Directorate's Department for the Fight Against Corruption, will continue its efforts to combat corruption throughout the Republic of Serbia.
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