Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić will be summoned as a witness in the case against Darko Šarić over the alleged laundering of at least €20 million. The decision was announced by the presiding judge, Vladan Ivanković, of the Special Division of the Higher Court in Belgrade.
Marko Parezanović, an employee of Serbia’s Security Intelligence Agency, will also be questioned in the same trial. Šarić and the other defendants are standing trial over funds that, according to the indictment, were acquired through drug trafficking.
„It is shameful for the state to do such things,“ Vučić said, quoted by Serbian media outlet 021. He said that he had already received information that he would be summoned as a witness and denied taking part in anything or putting pressure on Šarić over the length of his sentence.
„I have never been on the phone using „Sky,“ I have never taken part in anything,“ Vučić said. He added that „they cannot do anything“ against him because he knows that he is telling the truth.
The case has been ongoing for more than 15 years
The trial was launched on the basis of an indictment filed in 2010. In 2020, Šarić was sentenced at first instance to nine years in prison. Two years later, the Court of Appeals overturned the verdict and ordered a retrial, stating that the decision was unclear and contradictory.
Summoning Vučić and Parezanović as witnesses does not mean that the two are defendants in the case. Judge Vladan Ivanković said that their questioning was not directed against any specific person but was necessary „in the interest of the state.“
Dispute over the messages on „Sky“
The court’s decision comes after investigative media outlets published reports about messages from the encrypted application „Sky.“ KRIK and „Radar“ reported that the communication used nicknames which the authors linked to Vučić and Parezanović. KRIK clarified that the police and prosecutors had not officially established who was behind the nickname „Oscar.“
Vučić rejects any connection to this communication, while Parezanović has also stated that he never owned a phone with „Sky“ and had no contact with Šarić’s group. The court is yet to determine when the two witnesses will be questioned.
Sources: 021.rs, vreme.com, krik.rs