One of the Balkans' richest men went on trial on Thursday in a high-profile case that the Serbian government says marks a long-overdue drive to end more than two decades of lawlessness.
Miroslav Miskovic, who created an insurance, retail and real estate empire through the 1990s collapse of Yugoslavia and Serbia's emergence from isolation, faces up to 10 years in jail if found guilty on charges of fraud and tax evasion.
He was arrested 11 months ago, stunning a region that had long seen him as untouchable.
By bringing him down, the Belgrade government hopes to show that it is serious about tackling the murky nexus of politics, business and organised crime that has flourished in Serbia over the past two decades.
That fight is central to Serbia's campaign to join the European Union, which takes a step forward in January with the expected launch of accession talks.
Miskovic, a slight, bespectacled 68-year-old, is accused of siphoning off millions of euros from a privatised and now bankrupt road repair company between 2005 and 2010. His son, Marko, and nine others are also standing trial.
Miskovic and his Delta Holding company, which employs more than 7,000 people and is projected to turn over some 700 million euros in revenue this year, deny any wrongdoing.
"The indictment is long, but when you finish it there is nothing illegal or immoral to be asserted," said Ian Forrester, a British lawyer who is part of Miskovic's defence team.
Dressed in a three-piece suit, Miskovic repeated his innocence to the court. "I'm not guilty, I don't feel guity," Radio B92 quoted him as saying. "I didn't understand the indictment, only the personal details, quantitative details and dates, but not one word of the indictment."
Source: Reuters
