Aleksandar Vučić says criminal clans extort businessmen across Serbia, demand €1 million
Vučić said gangs have sent death threats and are extorting owners in multiple Serbian cities, and he criticised police priorities after reading message excerpts on Instagram.
Former Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić said in an Instagram video that organized criminal groups are threatening and extorting successful businessmen across Serbia, demanding sums of about one million euros and warning of deadly consequences for those who refuse to pay.
Vučić said the groups — including one he mentioned from the Vračar neighbourhood — have sent threatening messages to entrepreneurs in several cities and linked elements of the activity to criminal networks in Montenegro. He also said some of the perpetrators identify themselves as members of the Student List, invoking that group's election victory on October 25.
He reads threats aloud and criticizes police deployment
In the video address he read excerpts of a message he said had been sent to a businessman; one of the passages Vučić read aloud said: "Terror literally rules in Serbia. One of the most disgusting operations to ever happen in Serbia since 1945 is underway." He also read a shorter, more direct threat: "You'll prepare one million euros or you'll be slaughtered." Vučić did not disclose the identity of the person he said received the message.
Vučić listed cities where he said gangs have carried out extortion and break-ins, naming Niš, Aranđelovac, Belgrade, Novi Sad and Subotica as locations where business owners were pressured for money.
He sharply criticized police priorities, saying their resources are tied up guarding containers that are allegedly being watched for document destruction, rather than focusing on locating the people he says are threatening and extorting businessmen. "We're spending the entire police on guarding the containers for alleged destruction of documents, and so far they have not found a single torn document, but criminals are disguising themselves and destroying Serbia," he said.
Vučić urged that police resources be redirected toward investigating and arresting those responsible for the threats and extortion attempts, while he maintained these cases are not isolated incidents but part of a wider pattern of criminal pressure on Serbian businesses.
Photo: Printskrin
